Municipality Smart Metering

Massachusetts municipality invests in innovative metering technology to enable residents to better manage their energy use and reduce spend and greenhouse gas emissions.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

One of the oldest municipalities in Massachusetts was faced with the operational challenge to enhance reliability, reduce operating costs, and improve customer service.  Utilities are measured by their ability to restore power quickly during volatile weather events in New England, combat increasing costs of operation that eventually lead to recovery mechanisms such as rate increases, and support an educated customer base that demands environmentally considerate solutions.

SOURCEONE SOLUTION

 

SourceOne worked closely with the municipality’s energy management team to take a process driven approach to reach their objectives. SourceOne helped outline the current state, document the business obstacles, identify the stakeholders, architect a solution and create a step-by-step plan to implement the solution to success.

The recommendation to implement smart meter technology for the municipality was a forward thinking approach that not only resolved the muni’s existing issues, but set them up to adopt new and innovative utility management technologies in the future.

SourceOne provided consulting services by recommending and selecting the technology solution, drafting and circulating an RFP, selecting the vendor, and managing the negotiation and purchase process. SourceOne also serves as project manager through the implementation of this solution – managing timelines, budget, meeting schedules and more. The installation plan includes a system for over 20,000 electric and water meters.
 

 

RESULTS

Through smart meter installation, the municipality can isolate and respond to issue areas during outage events and efficiently dispatch their repair crews.  As well, automatic transmission of meter data using RF, fiber, and wireless technologies help reduce operating and maintenance costs related to traditional manual meter readings.  And finally, smart meter technologies permit “time of use” billing rather than traditional single read invoicing and residents can monitor their energy usage via an online portal, enabling them to manage their home and business use through knowledge of their load profile.

Reducing energy use not only contributes to customer savings, but also decreases greenhouse gas emissions.