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WSSC pitches meter upgrades as customer and operational priority; asks for budget pathway
Summary
WSSC said outdated meters and manual reads contribute to safety risks for meter readers and a recent $35M revenue loss; it requested committee attention to a potential multi‑year modernization program and described options to reallocate existing budgets and pursue external funding.
Glenn Diaz, WSSC director for utility services, told the committee that WSSC manages roughly 500,000 active meters (about 343,000 inside customers' homes) and that most meters have passed their useful lives; about 4% of meters have automatic metering (AMR). Diaz said obsolete metering produces estimated bills, creates safety and injury risks for meter readers and contributed to a recent audit finding of approximately $35 million in revenue loss tied to inaccurate meters.
Diaz said WSSC has prioritized large/commercial meter replacement and will focus residential enhancements on disadvantaged communities and affordability concerns. The utility advertised an industry request for information (RFI) to understand available technology and procurement options and submitted a FY26 request that referenced a planning-level figure (about $175 million). WSSC officials told the committee they are exploring budget-neutral approaches by reallocating existing replacement funds and leveraging external grants; they also noted a moratorium on advanced metering discussions that had constrained planning but said technical and procurement concerns raised previously have been addressed.
Committee members probed how metering modernization would be treated in upcoming rate requests and what would be cut if full funding were not approved; WSSC replied that many details depend on RFI results and procurement outcomes, and that staff will return with more exact budget figures.
