started showing that traditional assumptions regarding peaking factors for different customer classes may not hold true. Most AMI systems do not yet readily allow the aggregation of the massive amounts of data that AMI generates for rate-setting purposes, but there is future potential for this use. Customer Meter Projects No Longer Require PSCW Authorization Water utilities have benefited from a streamlined approach to implementing AMI technology since 2021 when the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, in partnership with Municipal Environmental Group – Water Division (MEG-Water) and Wisconsin Rural Water Association, lobbied for the creation and passage of 2021 Wisconsin Act 86. That Act created Wis. Stat. § 196.49(5g) which exempts water public utilities and combined water and sewer public utilities from needing a Public Service Commission of Wisconsin certificate of authority before beginning customer meter installation, repair, or replacement projects. Utilities are already benefiting. When the Deerfield Water Utility installed AMI in the last year, it only needed to convince its village board and residents of the many benefits of AMI and did not need to wait for additional regulatory approval. Conclusion Advanced Metering Infrastructure can change the game in how a utility designs and operates its system, how a utility communicates and serves its customers, how customers interact with their utility, and how the utility and its customers alike conserve water. While this article outlines the benefits of AMI to both the utility and its customers, there are startup and ongoing costs to the purchase, installation, and operation of the hardware and software components. However, those utilities which have implemented AMI see that the benefits that near real-time access to more data affords outweigh the costs. If your utility is looking to implement AMI, ask around – in my experience, our water utility colleagues are more than happy to share their stories.
When customers hear about AMI for the first time, privacy and security of the data is a common concern. A customer is limited to seeing their own data in their online portal, but the utility can see all usage data. Municipal utilities are already sensitive to the protection of municipal utility customer information (see Wis. Stat. § 196.137), and AMI is no different. Educating your customers on the protections afforded customers under Wisconsin law, and a well-trained staff on the use of AMI, usually mitigates these concerns. Utility Benefits of AMI “We started out with AMI because we saw the benefits for staffing,” Powell said. Since starting implementation 20 years ago, “Green Bay Water went right from meter readers walking up to the meters to using AMI.”This switch allowed Green Bay Water to reallocate the substantial amount of labor used for meter readings to other pressing needs. Green Bay Water’s Business Manager, Stephanie Rogers, also saw labor – and customer service – benefits for move-ins and move-outs, because “people often do not call when they move out. When we get a call two weeks later, we can now look back and do a bill for the final date,” rather than send a reader out two weeks too late. This ability to look back has proven particularly popular for landlords. Smaller utilities report similar advantages. Derek Anderson, Water Superintendent for the Village of Deerfield Water Utility, reports that since replacing its 1,185 meters with AMI meters in the last year, the utility has saved at least four days of work every month for meter reads, and even more for final move-out reads. “The biggest thing for the water utility is that AMI has already saved a lot of time and will save a lot of money in the future,” he responded. Beyond a decrease in labor costs associated with meter reading, Kumar has seen how “AMI also helps the [Madison Water] utility to accurately assess peaking factors enabling the Utility to right size its water infrastructure to meet both the current and future needs.” Green Bay Water agrees and uses the AMI data in system master planning. “We can see where the water is going,” said Rogers, “and break our data down by customer class and pressure zone.” This data can be put in hydraulic models to see when flows are happening and look at peaking factors when evaluating system capacity and upgrades. “Regarding using AMI data for rate setting,” opined Erik Granum, a Principal/Senior Consultant at Trilogy Consulting, LLC, “I think that more data is always better than less, and it provides information that can be used to ensure that rates are reasonable for all customers, based on generally accepted cost of service principles.” For some communities, AMI data has
Jared Walker Smith , Attorney, Boardman Clark, Lobbyist, Municipal Environmental Group (MEG) - Water Division. Contact Jared at jsmith@boardmanclark.com
1. Improving Water Management Using Advanced Metering Infrastructure Data: A Guide for Facility Managers , EPA WaterSense, September 2022. Available at: https://www.epa.gov/ system/files/documents/2022-09/ws-commercial-ami-guide-facility-managers.pdf 2. Based on the author’s review of 142 municipal water utility annual reports.
3. Online portals only work if they are used by customers. For suggestions on how to make your online portals more accessible, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) has published a Guidebook for practitioners called “Increasing consumer benefits & engagement in AMI- based conservation programs,” available at https://www.awwa.org/wp-content/uploads/AMI- Increasing-Consumer-Benefits-Guide-For-Practitioners.pdf.
The Municipality - October 2025 | 5
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