Population 2,000 2 Square Mile City Randal Jones City Mgr W We’re on the way eimar C I T Y O F

Municipal Owned Electrical Utility  1,200 Electrical Meters  7,200 Volt Distribution  100% Above Ground  5 Customers Per Transformer

Why AMI?  Provide Better Customer Service  Bill Disputes  Customer Can Manage Usage  Better Utilization of Utility Personnel  Don’t Have to Pull Personnel from Utility Dept to Read Meters  Real Time Pricing  Read Meters When Invoiced from Wholesale Supplier  Manage Electric Grid  Find Outages Faster

Challenge of AMI Minimize Overall Risk and Capital Exposure to the City of Weimar

Independent Variables Integrating Software Integrating Software Lead times on Hardware Lead times on Hardware Water Meter Installation Water Meter Installation In-house IT In-house IT Interface between Meters and Billing Program Interface between Meters and Billing Program No Contractor- may be easier installation but more costly overall No Contractor- may be easier installation but more costly overall

Research  Visited MOU’s with Different AMR / AMI Systems  Attended Area and National Seminars  Ran Two Pilots

AMI To Date  Three and Final Year of Build-Out  Installed to Date  Water 1040/1056  Electric 1150/1200

What Have We Learned  Lead Time of Meters longer than anticipated  Changing vendors business plans hinder deployment of system  Proved City was losing 22% in water revenue  Improved relationship with customers  Vendors are gear to larger customers and haven’t adjusted software and support for small customers  Field employees resistance

What Next User friendly internet utility interface for customers User friendly internet utility interface for customers Read Meters When Invoiced from Wholesale Supplier Read Meters When Invoiced from Wholesale Supplier Be aware of changing demographics and adapt Be aware of changing demographics and adapt

Benefiting the Citizens of Weimar  Improving Quality of Life  Promoting Economic Development  Enhancing the Reliability of the Power Grid  If a Rural Community Wants to be Viable, It has to Keep Moving Forward with Technology that Businesses Expect and Future Generation of Citizens Expect

Randal Jones City Mgr W We’re on the way eimar C I T Y O F