Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) has signed a subcontract to provide the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) with Itron’s advanced Water Fixed Network. The contract also includes ServiceLink, Itron’s wireless automated dispatching/communications solution, to manage field operations more efficiently by eliminating paperwork in the field.
Itron’s Water Fixed Network (WFN) combines high-powered two-way endpoints, network collectors with flexible backhaul options, and a robust data collection engine that takes fixed network technology for meter reading at water utilities beyond simple monthly consumption data. WFN can collect daily water meter readings and, through its powerful data logging functionality, even more granular consumption data that can be used for resource management and conservation programs.
More than 275,000 water endpoints will be deployed in the City of Detroit, allowing DWSD to be proactive in detecting water leaks behind the meter, alleviating large bills for unused water and associated billing disputes.
“DWSD will see benefits from Itron’s Water Fixed Network system in a number of ways including increased revenues (due to leak detection and elimination of billing errors), operational savings from reading more meters in a shorter amount of time with less people, improved cash flow from moving to monthly billing and savings from encouraging our customers to conserve,” said Victor Mercado, director of DWSD. “We also expect to see additional benefits as we gain experience with running the system and obtaining on-demand and interval data reads, along with the collection of data.”
“Our customers want us to eliminate estimated reads and we want to reduce special meter reads that create additional trips for our meter readers.” Mercado said. “With two-way communication, we can program meters without leaving the office.”
“The opportunity at Detroit is exciting because you have a city that is using technology to provide its customers with exceptional performance, accuracy and customer service,” said Malcolm Unsworth, senior vice president, hardware solutions. “Itron’s water fixed network provides Detroit with advanced, two-way communication for streamlined meter reading and leak detection that will enable Detroit to improve efficiency and maintain flexibility for future growth.”
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