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Madison updates advanced metering infrastructure; city reports rising meter reads
Summary
City staff reported progress on the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project, including installation rates, data-integration fixes and current meter-communication metrics for electric and water accounts.
City staff presented an AMI update describing deployment progress, data-integration fixes and next steps for three-phase meters and water meter coverage.
Staff said the project resolved an IT integration issue where KVAR-hours (power factor/demand) had previously been measured with separate devices; the AMI system is now pushing KVAR-hours correctly into the billing system. Staff said they had monitored data transfer into Tyler for about two months and planned to install the first three-phase AMI meter later in the week to verify demand reporting on large accounts (likely the water or wastewater treatment plant).
Installation rates reported: staff said they are installing about 25 single-phase AMI meters per day. At the time of the presentation staff reported 1,253 electric AMI meters deployed with 1,249 online (about 99.6% online) and 2,760 ERT-format water meters of which 1,895 were communicating (about 69%); staff said the communicating count had increased since the slide was prepared (one later count cited 1,932 communicating). Staff noted some meters remain unreachable because the meters are located inside duplexes/structures where radio coverage is limited; staff said replacement radio hardware for those locations is a future step.
Challenges and next steps described: staff reported some meter failures being handled through RMA replacement at no cost so far, limited historical data retention at the AMI head end (90 days without custom OATI work), and the need to budget for three-phase meters when the city decides to scale demand metering. OATI (the AMI/head-end vendor) is running firmware updates as a managed service to push improvements; staff praised vendor responsiveness for developing minor features on request.
Staff said the AMI deployment should enable more timely water-use detection and better loss analysis because reads are available in shorter intervals and can be reviewed by the hour. City commissioners thanked staff for progress and encouraged continued deployment.
