Utility management faces a multitude of tough choices. Should they invest in solidifying the network to better serve customers or invest in reducing the price to retain customers? Do they focus on restoring loads or restoring customers’ services? Which customers do they restore first - commercial and industrial (C&I) or residential?
Utilities need information and, in particular, usage data to face a myriad of challenges in the current landscape of customer expectations, workforce productivity, aging infrastructures, energy supply costs, deregulation uncertainties, acquisitions and mergers, globalization and competition.
New enablers such as automated meter reading (AMR) can be applied to capture and leverage information to help utilities proactively achieve these competitive objectives. Advanced capabilities such as predictive analysis, simulation tools, contingency analysis and network monitoring can go far in giving utilities the power to be successful.
Automated meter reading systems are an attractive technology for cutting costs while increasing speed and control of metering activities. When organizations, such as utilities, military installations, large industrial parks and school districts consider automated meter reading technology, they discover most available systems carry high initial capital costs. Organizations that purchase systems without first evaluating the full costs and benefits often find they are locked into a technology that accomplishes less than they need.
The industry has come far since walk-by meter reading, when the data of each meter was manually noted on paper or entered into a handheld device, eventually making its way into the office through further manipulations by levels of clerks until being captured electronically. Each level of that process took time and was error prone. The introduction of handheld devices saved time and reduced errors. Drive-by metering further improved the data collection process.
However, the costs and logistics in planning optimal routes and resources remain a challenge. Many utilities have equipped their workforce with street-level routing software. While this solution helps to some degree, it brings with it additional software implementation and maintenance costs. Another problem is energy consumption. The more work being requested of these electronic devices, the more energy they consume. Unlike analog devices, some electronic meters work from batteries, requiring additional maintenance and repair activities. The fully automated meter reading solution addresses most of these problems since the entire process of gathering the information is achieved without human intervention. AMR systems are used to automate the acquisition of remote meter data, but also to reduce workforce expenses and increase the quality of the data captured.
This report on Automated Meter Reading Technologies explores this emerging industry in depth, focusing on the manufacturers and suppliers of AMR technology and equipment, and current trends in the AMR industry. The report also explores the market statistics pertaining to water utilities, available technology, current business requirements, and much more. The report takes a look at the newly gained interest of venture capitalists in automated meter reading technology markets and how it is affecting the industry overall. Read on to find out how this new technology is changing the today’s utility landscape.
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