Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Update

August 19, 2020

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Agenda

• Metering at WSSC Water

• Progress to date

• Current state: Lessons learned

• Why AMI now?

• Challenges with meter reading

• AMI project benefits

• Projected timeline

• Next steps

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Progress To Date

• Initiated project in August 2018

• Performed Needs Assessment through end of 2018

• Issued RFP September 2019

• Project placed on hold due to COVID-19 in March 2020;o Solicitation was later canceled

• Conducted current state lesson learned

• Conducted opt-out peer utility survey

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Current State: Lessons Learned

• Conducted lessons learned with subcommittees:

Pluses Opportunities

Project team management Identify additional resource needs

Project organizational structure Establish additional subcommittees

Team camaraderie and engagement Increase project communications

Project email to address customer concerns Develop decision matrix

Educating project team on AMI components

and integration needs

Streamline RFP Scope of Work

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Why AMI Now?

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” Steve Jobs

• Enhance customer experience

o Access to near real-time water usage

o Quickly identify leaks and increased water consumption

o Reduce bills and save money

o Improve billing accuracy / minimize estimated bills

• Aging meter infrastructure

• Support Engineering and Construction’s Water Loss Reduction Plan

• Close data gaps:

o Metering Inaccuracies

o Meter right-sizing and replacement

o Unauthorized consumption

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• COVID-19 operations impact

o No inside meter reads leads to increased estimated bills

o Large volume of adjustments and bill corrections strains billing team capacity

Why AMI Now? (cont.)

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• Annual meter reader turnover

rate of 50%o 93-meter readers in last 5 years

o New meter reading staff require 4-6 weeks of on-the-job training

• Regularly fall behind in meter reading in both

counties

• Beginning May 2020, 2-year contract

for temporary personnel to enhance

meter reading services

Challenges with Meter Reading

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Challenges with Meter Reading (cont.)• Different reading devices

for different meter sizes and manufacturers

• Costly maintenance & replacement of handhelds, antennas, laptops, receivers, and software

• Aging large meters in deep confined spaces have unreliable drive-by Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) signal

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Challenges with Meter Reading (cont.)

• 63% of WSSC Water’s existing meter population is currently 15 years or older, with the average age being 17.03 years

• Increase number of field activities or truck rolls due to aging meters

• Increase number of testing of old meters at the meter shop

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Less than 5 Years

6-10 Years

11-15 Years

16-20 Years

21-25 Years

26-30 Years

31-35 Years

36-40 Years

41 or more Years

0 40,000 80,000 120,000Number of Meters

Age of Meters

Challenges with Meter Reading (cont.)

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Decreases our carbon footprint through reduction of vehicle emissions

Saves manhours by reducing the need for in-person services which saves WSSC Water time and money

Helps us strive towards world-class customer service through reduction of potentially inconvenient home visits to our customers

Average annual truck rolls from FY15-FY19 was 205,288

AMI can help reduce this, which in turn:

AMI Project Benefits

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Customer WSSC Water

• More accurate billing

• On-property leak detection• Customer can be alerted if there is

abnormal usage

• Water usage information• Customer receives information to

better manage their water usage

• Enables monthly billing• Smaller, more frequent bills to provide

for easier budgeting

• Reduces estimated bills• Less customer dependency

• Fewer meter reading errors

• Reduces meter staff field visits

• Improved meter management

• Detection of water theft

• Distribution system leak detection

• Distribution system planning

• Water quality monitoring

Projected Timeline

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Emails Received

60Customers

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Majority of Concerns = Radio Frequency (RF) exposure

AMI Feedback to Date

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Next Steps

• Present survey findingsoOpt-Out peer utility

oQuantitative customer

oWSSC Water’s Customer Feedback Community

• Virtual public hearings

• Finalize RFP for re-advertisement

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Questions?

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