The city of Lancaster, S.C., recently awarded Johnson Controls, Inc. a $3.1 million performance contract that pays for the program through increased billable water usage, energy savings and increased operational savings of $4.6 million over the next 15 years.
A performance contract pays for improvements made now over time through increased billable water usage, energy and operational savings. This allows the city to upgrade aging infrastructure through a program that will pay for itself over time.
The contract will allow the City to bill water users more accurately for actual water usage by installing more precise water meters. The city and Johnson Controls agree that the upgrades to the system will increase billable water usage that was previously unbilled. To help the city recover these lost revenues in the future, Johnson Controls is replacing more than 6,000 water meters with more precise equipment. A new Automated Meter Reading (AMR) system will provide operational savings for the city by decreasing the number of reading errors and re-reading meters for accuracy.
This is the first city in the state of South Carolina to include water meter replacement with an AMR system within a performance contract since the legislation was modified to include water in July 2005.
“With the help of Johnson Controls, we will be able to realize the long term goal of reducing unaccounted water and implementing a city-wide automated meter reading system,” said Steve Willis, city administrator. “We have been looking for a solution like this for a while, and Johnson Controls has helped us find a creative way to finance it.”
In addition, lighting system and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) improvements will be made, and water conservation measures will be put in place. The city will realize many other benefits in addition to increased billable water usage and reduced operational cost. The contract allows the city to have more consistent billing cycles, improved comfort for building occupants and overall improved customer service.
“Johnson Controls is pleased to provide a solution to the city of Lancaster that will provide important benefits to the municipality,” said Brad Bateman, director of public sector business at Johnson Controls. “We look forward to working with the city to implement these improvements.”
Source: Johnson Controls, Inc.
