Automated Meter Reading Strategy

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Automated Meter Reading Strategy

• Jack Griffin
• Manager, Meter Data Management
• September, 2005

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Agenda

• Who is NSTAR?
• Benefits of AMR
• Business Case
• Deployment Strategy
• Implementation Strategy
• Communication Strategy
• Challenges
• Lessons Learned

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NSTAR Electric Gas

• Boston Edison, Commonwealth Electric
  Commonwealth Gas merged to form NSTAR
• 1.4 Million Customers
• 1.14 Million Electric 81 Communities
• 260,000 Gas 51 Communities
• Total revenues approximately 3 Billion
• Total assets approximately 6 Billion

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Distribute Electric Gas to 132 Cities Towns
including the metropolitan Boston Area.
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Benefits of AMR

• Reduce O M Costs
• Eliminate FTEs costs to equip FTEs
• Increase average meters read per day
• Eliminate estimated reads
• Fewer employee injuries / motor vehicle accidents
  
• Reduce customer calls to the Call Center
• Reduce damage to customer property
• Reduce DTE complaints
• Exceed service quality standards for meters read

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Business Case

• Automate the metering process for all meters
  except Time -of -Use in the areas defined as Mass
  Ave, Westwood and Southborough.
• 190,144 KWh
• Demand 18,622 KW
• The project is financially attractive to NSTAR
  because it reduces OM expenses.
• The project will also improve revenues by
  increasing the precision around energy
  consumption demand readings. In addition, lost
  meters are being recovered and unbilled accounts
  identified.

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Business Case

• OM Reduction -Annual Average Savings 4,899,175
• NSTAR reduces OM costs by reducing 46 FTEs from
  Meter
• Reading area along with the variable costs
  associated with equipping
• them. Variable costs include vehicles from the
  fleet, cell phones,
• uniforms other items.
• KWh Improvement Annual Average Revenue Increase
  710,258
• NSTAR will realize improved KWh recognition on
  all new meters
• that utilize solid state technology. Industry
  reviews and standards
• recognize about a 2 improvement from replacing
  electro-mechanical
• meters with solid state technology. - We used
  1

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Business Case

• Demand Calculation Improvement -Annual Average
  Revenue Increase 609,046
• The majority of the demand meters being replaced
  are mechanical or electro-mechanical.
• The ABB A3 is fully electronic and provides
  improved demand metering performance by
• about 0.7. The solid state meters calculate the
  demand using a 5 minute rolling, 15
• minute period calculation in lieu of a 15 minute
  block calculation.
• Recovery of Lost Accounts - Annual Average
  Revenue Increase 142,052
• During the FY2002 deployment of 9,500 Demand AMR
  meters, NSTAR found meters
• that were not in the Customer Information System
  and therefore were not being billed.
• We believe this trend will continue to occur with
  future deployments.

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Business Case

• The financial analysis assumed that the major
  cost components are the cost of the AMR meters
  themselves and the cost of labor to install the
  metering.
• The financial model used best last price for
  the cost of common meter types. Best Last Price
  minimizes the exposure to cost overrun, and
  presents the possibility that NSTARs actual
  costs may be lower than projected given that a
  competitive procurement process will be used.
• Installation labor costs are exposed to some risk
  dependent on Meter Technicals ability to
  complete installations at targeted rate per
  hour.
• This risk is offset by management control and
  monitoring, confirmed unit per hour performance,
  and fixed labor rate costs per the Local 369
  contract.

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Balancing Operational and Financial Factors
Deployment Strategy by Office

• Key Financial Components in Magnitude order
• Reduced OM
• Improved demand measurement
• Improved KWh Measurement
• Recovering Lost Accounts

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Implementation Strategy

• Complete an entire town before moving to the
  next.
• Identify large apartment complexes in the towns
  to maximize productivity.
• Negotiate an agreement with Local 369 for use of
  non-traditional employees and outside resources
  as well as language to manage OT.
• Non-traditional and outside resources install
  single phase residential meters.
• NSTAR resources install demand / transformer
  rated meters.
• Train equip non-traditional employees with
  vehicles and tools.
• Outside contractor is responsible for training
  and equipping their employees with vehicles and
  tools.

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Implementation Strategy

• Leverage the experience and knowledge of existing
  Meter Reading
• resources to gain access to difficult
  locations.
• Use the warrant process to gain access to
  difficult locations.
• Coordinate the use of FSRs FSTs to avoid
  impeding normal business operations.
• Identify strategic locations for meter
  deployment.
• Coordinate pre-packaging of identified routes.
• Coordinate with Meter Lab for tracking of
  inventory.
• Hire Electricians to support the deployment to
  eliminate claims media relations / DTE
  complaints.
• Hired temporary staff to meet current reading
  percentages.

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Implementation Strategy

• Demand Metering in a Mobile AMR Environment
• Traditional AMR Deployment Strategies left
  demands behind.
• In 2002, Elster / Itron developed a 3-ERT meter
  that allows for capturing KWh, Peak Demand, and
  Reset Date
• NSTAR developed 6 reset date programs and the
  needed IT infrastructure to support them. The
  reset date then forces NSTAR to align meter
  reading routes geographically on a cycle basis to
  post the consumption.
• Developed Swim Lane method for identifying
  specific areas / Towns that require the same
  Demand Reset Program.
• Started systematic process of moving reading
  assignments to match the geographic requirements.

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Implementation Strategy Data Currency
Manual Route Cycle Division Route
21-82-123 21 Cycles 21 Work Days Division
Geographic Area Route 3 Digit Code in
CIS Mobile Route Cycle Division Split
021 82-0 Split is predefined by specifically
identifying CIS Routes associated with the
Split
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Implementation Strategy Data Currency

• Life Cycle of the Reading Billing Process
• Day 18 for a cycle Request a Read MRI Day
• Meter Reading Input File ( Itron P4 )
• Day 21 Schedule Read Day.
• Day 1 Scheduled Bill Day.
• Day 4 Default Day.
• If we fail to read a meter by Day 4, CIS attempts
  to estimate bill
• Day 1 Billing is about 80 by Day 4 99.5

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Implementation Strategy Data Currency
Tactical Question When in the Billing Life
Cycle do we want to change the Meter? We chose
Outside the Billing Window. This basic
decision and the infrastructure state we have
then drives all other deployment activity. Each
Day, we use specific FTP files from Day 18
process and update our and our partners system.
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Implementation Strategy Data Currency

• Daily file transfer updates our Partners system
  to provide them usage information, account
  changes (move in / Move out) and any internal
  activity that impacted the external plan. This
  continuous updating keeps them in sync with our
  best available information and provides them an
  indication of how well we are completing the
  exchange transactions.
• We adjust deployment focus by ensuring teams are
  working accounts Outside the billing window.
  Essentially, once a cycle is defaulted, teams
  are staged to execute that specific area. They
  are given a Window of operations from Work Day 5
  to Work Day 16.

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Implementation Strategy Data Currency

• The Process Starting on Day 5.
• Technician exchanges the meter. Using a NexTell
  phone, she answers the following questions
• What Meter are you looking at?
• Response calls up Street address, name, and
  suite.
• What is the reading?
• Response validates against Average Daily use with
  a /- 10 range. If Fails re-read.
• What is the meter you are installing?
• Response is validated against the stock issued
  that day minus already used numbers

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Implementation Strategy Data Currency

• The Process Continued
• Technician places old meter in box from new meter
  and proceeds to next location.
• At the end of the day, Technician closes out the
  days package by inventorying the old meters and
  new meters not used. Data systems updated that
  evening to update their inventory status.
• Day 6 Shop staff image - scan all old meters
  and enter reading. Out meter number and reading
  are matched against previous days exchanges.
  Exceptions reviewed, approved by Supervisory
  Staff.

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Implementation Strategy Data Currency

• The Process Continued
• Day 6 Evening Partner FTPs completions to
  NSTAR. Overnight batch process posts completions
  to accounts.
• Day 7 Internal Metering Admin Staff review,
  correct posting failures. Averaging about 0.2.
• Day 18 CIS assigns meter to be read.
• Day 21 to day 4 Meter Reading reads routes
• Day 5 Identify Newly Installed Meters
  stratifying by Successfully Read or Not.
• Successfully read Notify partner to invoice for
  exchange Unsuccessful prove it is there and
  works

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Implementation Customer Impact
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Benefits Achieved

• Reduced OM Costs
• Elimination of 46 FTEs
• Increase average meters read per day
• Meter Reader 300
• Van 5,000
• Eliminate estimated reads
• Eliminate / reduce calls to the Call Center

• Fewer employee injuries / motor vehicle accidents
• Improve customer satisfaction
• Reduce DTE complaints
• Exceed service quality standards for meters read

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Communication Strategy

• Internal
• Union Leadership was notified early in the
  process of the anticipated reduction in
  workforce.
• Project updates are communicated to employees as
  they are received and quarterly meetings are held
  with employees to address their concerns.
• Provide the Call Center, Billing, DTE Community
  relations groups with our deployment schedules so
  that they may handle inquiries from customers.
• Hold quarterly Steering Committee meetings to
  report on the Projects status.
• External
• Our Community Relations Representatives provided
  the local community agencies, Police and Fire
  departments with our deployment schedules.
• Pre-recorded messages are left for customers two
  weeks prior to the exchange date notifying them
  that NSTAR will be visiting their home to
  exchange their meter.
• Letters are mailed to our hard to- access
  customer premises to schedule appointments to
  have the meters exchanged.

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Challenges

• NSTARs Field Service Dispatch Technology was not
  sufficient to handle mass-deployments.
• Aggressive replacement schedule to replace
  200,000 meters in 12 month period.
• Starting an outside replacement project in the
  winter months.
• Coordinating pre-programmed Demand meters with
  proper cycle/area.
• Resource constraints Balancing core work with
  project work.
• High population of inside meters.
• Monitoring high volume of meter inventory
• Replacing demand and complex meters.
• Revisiting areas where non-demand AMR meters are
  now in place to install the demands and
  transformer rated meters Swiss Cheese

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Challenges

• Delayed deployment of contractor exchanges due
  to
• Need to award RFP negotiate contract.
• Leasing of contractors facility
• System changes to enable use of Honeywells work
  management system.
• Staffing
• Unavailability of Itron ERTs for Elster Demand
  Meters
• Delayed sample testing and pre-kitting of Boston
  routes.
• Underground fed meter sockets posed issues with
  meter replacement.

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Challenges

• Physical Challenges Crews Faced
• Meter trough not connected to the house.
• Customer has siding on house blocking part of
  meter trough therefore crew could not remove
  the meter trough cover. Customer had to arrange
  for the siding to be removed.
• Meter socket hanging off house. Needs to be
  repaired before exchange can take place.
• Trough is rusted and needs to be replaced, cannot
  get cover off without breaking the latch.
• Unable to change meter due to rotted dish pan
  trough jaws. Line jaws didnt separate from line
  side of meter.
• Unsafe underground conditions.

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Lessons Learned

• Develop a solid communication plan for internal
  and external customers.
• Start deployments in Spring vs. Winter.
• Set clear expectations for Senior Managers on
  what it takes to successfully complete the
  deployments.
• Avoid the Swiss Cheese approach.
• Allow sufficient planning for meter reading route
  cut over and IT system development.

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Questions