AMI systems can assist operations in several different ways.
These systems can provide water utilities numerous benefits, including:
- Increased operational efficiency
- Improved customer service
- Reduced water loss.
However, according to a recent article from Water Technology, the risk of these systems being compromised by outages, equipment failures and network impediments can increase when utilities host their networks in-house.
According to the article, written by Jackie Lemmerhirt, vice president of Software for Mueller Systems, a leading provider of innovative water infrastructure products and services and technologically advanced metering systems for water and electric systems, “Due to AMI’s role of helping utilities account for water they provide (the Water Research Foundation and other industry groups sometimes refer to smart metering systems as “cash registers”), utilities should strongly consider having their vendors host and manage their network. This approach is increasing among water utilities throughout the U.S. — a list that has recently grown to include the village of Frankfort, New York, Bentonville, Arkansas and Weatherford, Oklahoma — and can help bolster AMI’s performance and reliability, while enhancing the cost savings it provides.”
Would you like to read the entire article? It can be found here.
