In In 2011, SaskEnergy in collaboration with SaskPower agreed to a joint venture to transition from manual meter reading to Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). The project goal was to supply monthly automated meter reads for billing purposes. SaskEnergy had already been working with the AMR technology in Swift Current.
Conversion from manual reads to automated reads has been completed by retrofitting existing meters and exchanging meters with AMI module equipped meters. Our deployment vendors Grid One Solutions (GOS) were conducting the retrofits, and meter exchanges were completed by internal SaskEnergy technicians. Through these combined efforts we deployed 272,000 gas modules across Saskatchewan. The deployed gas modules are communicating through SaskPower’s AMI system, and are sending meter reads to SaskEnergy’s billing system. As of January 15, 2016 SaskEnergy has a total of 281,109 active service meters that have been converted to AMI. This total includes the AMI solution in the City of Swift Current and Lloydminster (ATCO).
Benefit Realization – What we are seeing so far?
• More actual meter reads;
• Fewer truck rolls related to meter read field orders;
• Call volume & length beginning to reduce since January 2015;
• Fewer Exceptions in CIS – related to Customer Account Management;
• More efficient Tenancy Change process.
