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Hurricane City begins AMI smart‑meter rollout, staff say eight gateways planned
Summary
Utility staff reported an AMI kickoff with Eaton, described a radio mesh design with eight gateways and planned pilot meters; staff cautioned that software, meter‑change windows and staffing will constrain mass changeouts.
City utility staff told the Hurricane City Power Board they have begun an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) rollout and expect the first materials and gateway equipment by the end of the month.
A presenter said the AMI architecture will place eight collector/gateway sites in town; meters will communicate via a radio mesh that can hop meter‑to‑meter to a gateway and will use cellular backhaul to the hosted service initially. “So there's 8 of those in town ... it's a very, self healing type of a system,” the presenter said.
Staff outlined next steps: install collector gateways, test connectivity, run a pilot of about 20 meters before going live, and confirm integration with the utility’s billing and operations systems. They noted constraints: the utility office currently has specific windows during which crews can perform meter changeouts and must test newly purchased software modules (referred to in the meeting as 'MyExcel' or similar) to support bulk changeouts.
Board members suggested phasing installations by meter‑reader routes so crews can eliminate or reduce manual routes as AMI coverage rises. The presenter said the city will initially operate a dual system (AMI and radio read) during the transition and that the more meters are deployed, the stronger and more resilient the network will become.
There was no vote; staff will continue pilot testing and bring operational recommendations back to the board.
