Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Co-op Deploying AMR System

Hunt Technologies recently announced that Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC) has begun deployment of the TS1 automatic meter reading (AMR) system to about 12,000 of its rural members.

Based in Willcox, AZ, the co-op supplies power to the vast majority of Cochise County, a sprawling agricultural county in the southeastern corner of the state. It has already deployed 5,600 TS1 endpoints to the remotest parts of the county.

Al Smith, technical services supervisor at SSVEC, said the utility looked for the most cost-efficient way to begin deploying AMR. "Starting in the remote areas was definitely the quickest way for us to get payback on the system," he said.

From a service area that includes some 44,000 meters, the co-op picked 12,000 of the most remote meters to concentrate deployment. Most of the initial savings and efficiency will be seen in the hours it takes a meter reader to cover such a large territory. Some areas require a meter reader to drive 100 miles one-way to read a handful of meters.

Source: Hunt