Wireless Utility Meters Coming to City of LG

Monday, the La Grange City Council voted to purchase a new advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system for the City’s electric and water utilities. The AMI system will replace the City’s current meter-reading system, which involves City workers manually reading each electric and water meter with a handheld wand. The AMI system will link water and electric meters with the utility billing department at City Hall through a wireless network.

The system costs $1.6 million, which the City will pay for through a combination of American Rescue Funds, Water Capital Funds, an internal electric note and a one-time increase in revenue during the first year of operation. Raborn said the one-time revenue increase comes from the fact that the new system will reduce delays in the billing cycle. Raborn said he and the utility billing department have been considering the upgrade for many years.

“This is not something we came upon recently,” he said. “We’ve been working on this for 20 years.”

Raborn said the City would have to switch to a new system sooner or later. The City’s current system was manufactured by a company that is no longer in business. If the equipment fails, no one can service it.

In addition to streamlining the billing process, the new system will come with several other features that could conserve water for the City and reduce bills for residents.

“You will be able to see how much electricity and water you’re using on the hour,” said Glenda Munsch, the City’s utility office manager. “It tells us if there’s a leak or if a meter stops.”

Under the current system, the utility department can’t tell if anyone is using an unusual amount of water until workers read the meter, which happens once a month. Raborn recalled a case from several years ago in which a resident had a massive underground leak that went undetected for weeks. By that time, the resident’s water bill spiked exponentially.

“If we find someone using 5,000 gallons in a night, we can tell them right away so they can fix the leak,” Raborn said.

Additionally, Raborn said the new system will allow the City to compare the gallons of water pumped through its wells to the gallons of water that flow through customer meters. That will give the utility department the ability to detect leaks in the City’s water system in real time. Under the current system, the City can only conduct water system audits a few times a year.

Raborn said the new system will involve replacing every water and electric meter in town. The process for electric meters will take at least a year, he said. Replacement of the water meters would take about six months.