Commissioners approve expanded rollout funding for advanced metering infrastructure system

The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners on April 16 approved a second modification to the agreement with National Metering Services Inc. to support the continued rollout of the county’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system.

Why it matters: County staff said the AMI system provides 15-minute flow-resolution data that helps detect leaks and improves billing accuracy. County staff estimate the full deployment will serve about 250,000 customers; roughly 85,000 AMI meters had been installed at the time of the meeting.

County presentation: County staffer Lisa Ray told commissioners the AMI meters “record flows within 15-minute increments” and can be used to identify ongoing leaks and provide more accurate readings. Ray said approximately 85,000 meters are installed and acknowledged that the county’s older meters were prioritized for replacement.

Questions from commissioners and staff: Commissioners asked whether the rollout had produced unexpected billing increases among accounts that received new meters and how staff planned to analyze long-term impacts. Ray said the county will perform a year-over-year, like-for-like analysis after deployments have been in place long enough to normalize for weather and irrigation differences.

Vote and outcome: The board voted 7-0 to approve the modification and allocate the requested funds for continued AMI implementation. The motion was made and seconded on the record and recorded as approved 7-0.

Ending: County staff said they plan to complete installations, perform a post‑deployment analysis comparing pre- and post-meter volumes, and return with any substantive findings relevant to customer billing.