An automated meter reading (AMR) system provides a tremendous amount of benefits when it comes to cost savings, revenue cycle enhancements, and flexible upgrade solutions.  With brands like Itron’s ChoiceConnect, its scaleable meter data collection can address many business challenges.

South Carolina-based electric utility service Blue Ridge Cooperative is always on the lookout for the most productive and cost-effective method to deliver its services.  With more than 1,700 square miles of service area and a terrain that varies from farmland to heavily mountainous and wooded, the company sought to move beyond its handheld AMR meter strategy to address the difficulties of hard to access meters and increasing need for efficiency improvements.

Blue Ridge Cooperative purchased a pair of Itron Mobile Collector units to address these challenges and managed to reduce and consolidate its then collection of five meter readers reading five separate routes to just one meter reader.  By upgrading to a mobile AMR, the company was able to reduce the number of estimated reads, resulting in a boost to customer service ratings.

The Mobile Collection systems also managed to reduce the maintenance and transportation costs that come when navigating rough terrain.  Thanks to the reduced read times, Blue Ridge Cooperative was able to save over $65,000 in annual costs by reducing the number of contractor positions.

The Avanti Company, provides Flow Meters and Metering Systems including water meters and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to maximize and better utilize the data coming into your Utility.  Call 1-800-284-5231 for additional information on water and wastewater system products like Itron or visit our website at www.avanticompany.com to learn more about the services we provide including on-site flow meter testing, sewer flow monitoring, and metering system support.