City looks at switching to automated meter system
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on January 7, 2016 1:46 PM
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
When re-reads are necessary, meter readers have to manually read the numbers of the gauge several feet deep in the ground. The gauge, bottom right, is often covered by dirt and leaves.
Goldsboro's water meters are broken -- the automated reading systems on them, specifically.
But with a recent measure being considered by the city, they might not be broken for much longer.
The city is considering switching to automatic water meter reading systems and replacing the more than 15,000 water meters in the city, which would cost millions of dollars, but increase the efficiency of the city's meter reading process.
As of December 2015, the city is manually reading all of its meters despite having gone through a company named Datamatic to switch to automated meter reading systems in 2007.
Those automated devices, called Firefly devices, began failing as early as 2008, with systems continuing to fail throughout the years.
This causes the city's six full-time meter readers to process more than 1,000 re-read work orders for meters per month.
The system works by a sensor on the device that ideally would send a signal to an antenna on a meter reader's truck -- reading the data as the truck drove by the meter.
If the new systems are implemented, meter readers will no longer need to be sent out to read meters, as the system will report accurately and automatically.
In November 2013, Datamatic filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, leaving the city to do business for its failed meter reading systems with a bankrupt company.
The magnitude of the failure of the system is substantial, causing meter readers to go back and manually read more than 1,000 meters a month in the city's 15,000 water meter system.
As of December, the Datamatic meter reading system hit 100 percent failure.
To read a meter, a meter reader will check the number on a meter's dial and punch it into a handheld device that records the numbers.
A company named MeterSys has partnered with the city to come up with a strategy for replacing the water meters throughout the city.
MeterSys would not be providing the new meters themselves, but has aided the city in identifying five vendors that would be best to order the new technology from.
"The handheld hardware and software that Datamatic is providing the city, you're still using," said Andy Honeycutt, managing director for MeterSys. "So you have a bankrupt company providing the handheld support for those handhelds and software. Internally, the organization has identified some potential risks there if the software were to fail."
A switch to an updated, automatic system -- also known as an advanced meter infrastructure system -- would provide more accurate reading capabilities and reduce overall annual costs.
This automatic meter reading technology would enable city residents to have consistently accurate meter reading and manage rates of water consumption.
"It's not whether it reads wrong or not, if it reads it gives you an accurate read," Honeycutt said. "It's real-time reporting. It provides historical profiling for customers and customer service representatives. And it provides consumption management, meaning I can actually set controls on how much I use, just like with energy."
With the new systems, the city would also be able to forecast revenue and catch water leaks at specific locations as they happen. Currently, if a leak happens the city does not catch it until a meter reader is sent out for the monthly reading at a certain location.
The city then struggles to figure out when the leak occurred and what should be done about compensating the customer. These new water meters would prevent that from happening.
Honeycutt said the city has adjusted for more than $200,000 in leaks since 2012.
"The reason for that is customer-centric. You're focused on serving the customer, and you don't have enough data within the system from your existing data infrastructure to qualify that leak and to hold accountability at the customer level," Honeycutt said.
To replace all the water meters in the city, it would cost $5.965 million, which encompasses the utilization of the advanced meter infrastructure system, fully replacing all water meters, paying for labor and project management, paying for software and licensing fees on the automatic reporting software and paying for professional services related to the meters.
The Goldsboro City Council is expected to discuss the possibility of replacing water meters more at length during its council retreat on Feb. 23 and 24.