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Town manager outlines AMI smart-meter rollout and compatibility plan
Summary
Town staff told council the AMI project will install transmitters first and use compatible meters or transmitter upgrades so existing meters can be made functional; staff expects transmitter installation to begin mid-September with testing in early October and full meter installation to follow.
Town Manager Hendricks and utilities staff updated council on the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project, outlining a multi-stage rollout intended to avoid leaving new construction without metering capacity.
Utilities staff (Andrew, speaker 13) said the town can now obtain the specific meter feature required and that existing meters installed recently are compatible with the planned transmitter. "Now we're sure of what meter we're going to use," he said. Staff described a plan to deploy antennas and transmitters first, then test meters in early October, with full installation of new meters to follow over several months.
Andrew explained that some meters in the field are incompatible or very old, and that the town may add the new transmitter to recently installed meters to provide near-equivalent functionality without replacing every unit immediately. "The meters we have been using in a recent time are compatible with the transmitter that's going to be used on the new meters," he said.
Council members raised questions about whether meters for incoming subdivisions had been purchased or accounted for; staff replied taps have been made and meters for new houses will be handled through existing processes but that the AMI group did not initially quote those development meters. The manager and staff said they expect the AMI system to be operational before the upcoming homes are complete and impact fees will be collected as installations proceed.
