Electric Meter Specialist Dustin Jenkins installs a smart point on a gas meter.
GUC’s first Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) electric meters, along with water and gas smart points, have been successfully installed. This milestone marks the launch of Phase 1 in the AMI rollout, beginning with a select group of customers.
Phase 1, the Technology Implementation Phase (TIP), is the beginning of the six year, multi-million-dollar project that will touch every single meter at GUC.
GUC’s AMI vendor, Sensus, was onsite for several days in August training employees from Meter, Customer Relations, and IT in how to install the meters and smart points, configure the technology, and troubleshoot potential connection issues.
Smart points are the equipment that allows gas and water meters to communicate via the AMI system. That technology is built into the new electric meters.
“During the installations, we were also able to get a screen recording of the software installation steps that will support future training documentation,” said Project Coordinator Elizabeth Sharp.
“Overall, the installations and training were a success, and the team is excited to see the live data that is now feeding into Sensus’ meter data system, also known as the Regional Network Interface (RNI).”
During this phase, the new technology will run concurrently with the existing infrastructure to ensure data collection is accurate and functionality is up to standard.
By the end of November, GUC will be prepared to begin testing on a larger scale, with the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) beginning in December. At the conclusion of the phase, AMI will be fully integrated with Oracle CCS, Cityworks, ESRI-GIS, and Meridian customer portal.
By the end of 2026, 16 base stations and antennas across the GUC service area will have been installed, providing full coverage and redundancy. This will allow the next phase – Pilot Deployment - to begin in early 2027.
The pilot will include approximately 1,300 customers. System monitoring and troubleshooting will take center stage, ensuring the final phase will be as seamless as possible.
The final phase is Full Deployment Phase (May 2027-June 2032). This has a much longer timeline since it will include all the remaining meters in GUC’s system. It is a structured and strategic approach to replacing the rest of the system’s aging Advance Meter Reading (AMR) technology.
