Anderson Municipal Light & Power has announced plans to implement the TWACS power-line communications system from Aclara Technologies LLC to read electric meters. The utility will employ the system to reduce costs and improve service to the almost 60,000 residents of Anderson, Ind., a city about 25 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
The utility will implement a TWACS advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) upgrade to offer Anderson customers more control in lowering their electric bills. The TWACS upgrade being implemented allows customers to track electric consumption, helping them identify and cut back on expensive areas of usage.
TWACS technology offers a green alternative to monthly meter reads, providing billing data at one-hour intervals to the utility and allowing the utility to get a more detailed picture of how its customers use electricity. Data provided by the TWACS AMI solution will allow Anderson Municipal Light & Power to better understand patterns of usage and identify programs that can reduce system peaks and keep costs low. Meters on the TWACS system can also be connected automatically, allowing the utility to eliminate costs related to rolling trucks.
“Aclara’s TWACS technology will give Anderson Municipal Light & Power more flexibility in instituting programs that will help customers save money,” said Mayor Kevin S. Smith. “For example, an additional benefit from TWACS is that the utility eventually could institute pre-pay systems with no additional fees, giving customers more choice in determining how their electricity is delivered.”
Six years ago the city entered into a guaranteed savings program using Aclara’s STAR Network solution to read the city’s 25,000 water meters. Since installation of Aclara’s STAR Network system, Anderson’s water department has significantly improved the accuracy of its water-meter readings and has virtually eliminated inaccurate estimated reads during winter months when meter pits are covered with snow. Now the water department gets 98.5% of its reads every month.
