CHANDLER, Ariz. – Chandler City Council approved an agreement with Ferguson Enterprises, LLC for the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project in an amount not to exceed $14,000,000.
The city currently collects approximately 87,000 monthly water meter reads using drive-by technology known as Automated Meter Reading (AMR). The data collected from the meters is used to produce monthly bills for the city's utility customers. This new agreement will allow the city to transition from AMR to AMI technology. AMI is an integrated system of smart meters, a communication network and data management.
With AMI, customers will be able to view and manage their daily water consumption data, receive leak detection alerts and water system notifications and pay their monthly bill through a customer portal.
The new AMI meters will communicate with gateway collectors (small antennas) that will be strategically placed throughout the city. Approximately 48 gateway collectors will be purchased and installed and approximately 30,000 meters, that are incompatible with AMI technology, will be replaced. Aging meters are replaced every year; these meters are due for replacement within the next three to four years. Meters that are greater than 15 years old have a higher tendency to read inaccurately, resulting in incorrect billing or equipment failure. The new meters will have a life expectancy of 20 years.
A total of $1.2 million in grant funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) will be used for this project. Installation of the new equipment is scheduled to begin in late 2024.
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Toni Smith
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480-782-2701