5.3 EMRUSR 07-09-2024��i
Elk River ,
Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO:
FROM:
ERMU Commission
Mike Tietz —Technical Services Superintendent
MEETING DATE:
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
July 9, 2024
5.3
SUBJECT:
Advanced Metering Infrastructure Update
ACTION REQUESTED:
None
DISCUSSION:
• As of July 1, Allegiant has completed 507 residential water meter replacements and 34
retrofits. The pace is slower than expected due to staffing issues that Allegiant is trying
to resolve. Allegiant is planning to have a total of four technicians by the middle of July.
• Staff has approved the commercial appointment letter and a few changes to the
residential letter. The next round of appointment letters is expected to go in the mail on
July 3.
• Allegiant has completed the setup of a scheduling database for commercial services and
is in the process of moving work orders to the appropriate databases.
• Allegiant's commercial meter subcontractor (Archer Plumbing) has completed five
commercial meter replacements as of July 1 and has another four scheduled. Staff met
with Allegiant and Archer Plumbing at Rinker Materials to go over the details of the
replacements.
• To date we have made four residential repairs utilizing Karsten Nelson (Archer
Plumbing) who is a master plumber and has agreed to set pricing for the replacement of
the utility side meter shut-off valve so that Allegiant can complete the meter exchange.
• TKDA has been performing spot inspections for us throughout this project. Our Sensus
AMI residential water meters have already shown us a benefit that I believe is a real
game -changer for both our customers and the utility by identifying issues quickly, and
thereby conserving water consumption. These smart meters provide notification of
continuous flow, even in small quantities through the meter, which helps us to quickly
identify potential leaks and notify our customers about their water usage. Most of these
types of leaks would never have been identified using our old Automated Meter Reading
system. This new technology empowers the customer to seek out the source of their
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leak and take appropriate action to not only reduce water waste but also save money on
their bill almost immediately. We are working on developing a way to track these
potential savings for future reference.
We are still working with our distributor to develop a plan and commitment from the
manufacturer to provide us with an accurate shipment schedule for the electric meters.
We are still waiting for another 2,000 electric meters before we begin installations.
On June 7, ERMU respectfully requested a change in project management from Allegiant
for the remainder of the AMI project. Our new project manager started on June 24, and
we are working together to resolve issues that have been identified prior to his arrival.
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