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Marietta cites smart-grid upgrades, meter modernization after Digital City Award
Summary
City staff and Marietta Power & Water highlighted advanced metering and grid-control projects and outlined cybersecurity work and a federal grant partnership while accepting a Digital City Award.
Marietta city officials and staff used an agenda-review session to describe technology projects that helped the city win a Digital City Award and to outline ongoing cybersecurity upgrades backed by federal grants.
City water and electric staff told the council that the utilities have shifted from manual processes to automated systems and advanced metering, and that the city is participating in national pilot projects to expand grid monitoring and control.
Kim Holland, Director of Water and Wastewater for the City of Marietta and a member of the Board of Lights and Water, said Marietta moved from manual meter-reading to an advanced metering infrastructure that now covers the city's electric and water meters. "I'm Kim Holland, Director of Water and Wastewater for the City of Marietta and Board of Lights and Water," Holland said. She described SCADA monitoring of tanks and pump stations, a digital water meter system that supports more accurate billing, and field crews using tablets for real-time data and GIS asset mapping.
City staff said the utilities use large-data analytics to improve reliability and are piloting automated outage restoration and expanded sensor networks. The utilities also described internal software work, online customer self-service and a digital marquee for public information. Marietta staff said these systems are layered with cybersecurity protections.
IT staff described two federally funded projects supporting security and grid monitoring. One project uses a state-administered federal grant to upgrade switchgear and add cameras and logging at substations; staff said they have identified 10 substations with connectivity and expect that project to finish before July 1. A separate multi-year Department of Energy project run in partnership with Georgia Tech was described as beginning this year; staff said Marietta will be a co-recipient and that equipment ordering and design have started.
Staff also addressed a recent cybersecurity incident involving Cobb County. City IT staff said Marietta severed its connection to Cobb County after Cobb reported an unauthorized user on its network; the connection remained down for 12 days while Cobb obtained third-party attestation it had remedied the breach. City staff said the interruption affected police report-writing and left a backlog of roughly 800 cases the police department is working to clear.
Why it matters: City officials said the technology and security projects underpin customer services such as faster outage detection, more accurate billing and online account tools, while the cybersecurity work is intended to protect those systems and city operations.
What's next: Staff said the DOE/Georgia Tech project will run about three years and that the switchgear/substation work tied to the state-administered federal grant should be completed by July. The city is publicizing videos about its digital initiatives and has received outside media attention.
