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Core & Main pitches cellular water‑meter pilot to Taos officials to cut leaks and boost revenue
Summary
Core & Main representatives offered Taos a six‑month pilot of 100 cellular meters, customer portal access and installs. They said AMI meters detect leaks and unauthorized flow daily, improve billing accuracy and support conservation while requiring per‑meter annual subscriptions.
Representatives from Core & Main proposed a cellular AMI meter pilot to the council, pitching the technology as a way to reduce unaccounted-for water, speed leak detection and increase revenue without raising rates.
Ray Richardson described how older mechanical meters degrade over time and estimated ultrasonic, non‑moving‑parts meters can preserve accuracy for two decades. The company offered a pilot of 100 cellular meters, including a customer portal for residents, a cellular subscription and installation at no upfront cost to the town for the trial period.
Madison Briefman demonstrated the software (Neptune 360) features: daily consumption reports, continuous-flow/leak detection, reverse-flow detection, temperature and pressure monitoring, and grouped reporting by route or customer. The presenters said remote shutoff is available as a hardware upgrade (humanitarian mode also described) and recommended a phased deployment rather than wholesale replacement.
Councilors asked about cellular coverage in rural areas. Briefman said the vendor would run a propagation study and suggested hybrid approaches—cellular in town, collectors or drive‑by in outlying zones—where signals are weak. On costs, presenters explained subscription fees are charged per meter annually; utility-side portal and SaaS fees are also annual operating costs the town would evaluate during budgeting.
Staff noted procurement steps (RFP likely if no purchasing agreement) and that the state purchasing agreement could be used. Council members described local water losses and supported trials to improve detection and customer service. Core & Main said it will deliver packets and a recommended pilot scope for staff review.
