Aclara Technologies LLC, a leading provider of intelligent infrastructure technologies for water, gas and electric utilities, has inked a deal with the city of Canton, Ohio, to upgrade its existing STAR advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network with Aclara’s Series 3000 meter transmission units (MTUs).
The city of Canton operates 41,500 metered accounts. The new technology will assist the utility with collecting critical meter data to help residential consumers conserve resources and reduce water bills.
Over the next 18 months, the Canton Water Department will install 25,000 model 3300 water MTUs, which provide two-way capabilities to deliver time-synchronized meter readings that can provide a snapshot of system water consumption at a single point in time.
“Canton depends on the reliability of its current STAR network AMI system to provide accurate, billable data,” said Tyler Converse, superintendent, city of Canton Water Department. “The implementation of the latest iteration of the STAR network will allow us to get even more information from the AMI data we collect.”
The 3300 water MTU uses the STAR network radio frequency technology to transmit hourly, interval usage data and two-way communication to the utility. It supports up to 8-digit registers and delivers time-stamped reads on a time-synchronized network, allowing for advanced water distribution management. The 3300 MTU maintains a 20-year permanent battery and operates over FCC-licensed radio frequencies.
“Our MTUs ensure that all system clocks are set to the same time,” said Steve Bruskiewicz, water product manager at Aclara. “Utilities can take a complete system read and use the data to reconcile the amount of water entering the system compared to the billable water consumed, thus identifying the probability of system leaks or meter tampering.”
Upon completion of the residential phase of deployment, the Canton Water Department, which deployed Aclara’s very first STAR System in 1997, plans to expand its Aclara STAR network to include commercial and industrial areas.
Source: Aclara Technologies
