Overview

Concord Municipal Light Department (CMLP) and Concord Public Works (CPW) are replacing their existing obsolescing meter systems with a system that will allow two-way communication with customers for improved reliability, efficiency, billing, and customer service. The new metering system will also support Town-wide conservation goals. 

CMLP expects the new system will:

1. Reduce the frequency and duration of outages by allowing CMLP to isolate outages faster, dispatch repair crews more precisely, and detect equipment in need of repair or replacement.
2. Improve operational efficiency by 1) reducing meter reading costs from a mixed system spanning software and support; 2) ensuring accurate meter readings especially for water meters by replacing older, end-of-life meters in the field; 3) reducing labor and vehicle costs for meter reconnects, meter checks, move in and out for final billing; 4) improving detection of tampering and theft to capture unbilled revenue; 5) reducing the need for estimated bills due to inaccessible meters; 6) avoiding expensive power purchases during peak pricing periods by expanding energy management and rate programs to all customers; 7) reducing the cost of vegetation management by targeting areas with voltage issues using voltage alerts; and 8) improving safety for employees at risk with on-site premise visits.
3. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1) decreasing distribution losses (energy waste) through the rightsizing of transformers and voltage management; 2) promoting solar by enabling net metering; 3) promoting electric vehicles with the option to charge at off-peak rates; 4) reducing the use of non-electric company vehicles with fewer visits to customers; and 5) enhancing the value of customer-sited battery storage from Time-of-Use rates.
4. Improve customer service by 1) providing a self-service portal to customers containing detailed electric and water usage data for better insight to manage bills, 2) offering Customer Alert Services such as a high bill alert, high usage alert, water leak alerts or usage exceeding a customer set threshold; 3) enabling customers to schedule start and stop service at customer-directed dates and times since a service visit from a technician will not be needed; 4) delivering better outage services by getting targeted notifications from all meters and providing up-to-date outage information on a web portal or mobile application
5. Enable Direct Load Control, automated load control, and customer-driven load control of heating systems, hot water heaters and electric vehicles to lower customer bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
6. Enable time-of-use rates that will: lower customer bills through the improved utilization of infrastructure; promote fairness in revenue recovery; enhance the economics of battery installations; and encourage the charging of electric vehicles during low cost time periods.

For a general update on the AMS project status, read more.