The Benefits of DVM
DVM was developed with the utility in mind rather than strictly the metering department, as is the case with most standard AMR solutions.
At Utility Intelligence, it is not our goal to simply improve the efficiency of your metering department or reduce the size of your field staff or fleet. Our goal is to provide an easy to implement, fixed solution that will empower your company to cut costs and take full advantage of the data available to you - thus changing the way you do business.
Of course your company will benefit from the typical perks of installing an AMR system. You can reduce the size of your metering department, eliminate expensive fleet costs and drastically reduce the frequency of workers compensation claims.
But, in addition, and inherent to the nature of the WebNet Architecture itself, you can eliminate many additional headaches from the metering process. Line loss, open/close reads, transient reads, inaccurate reads, and utility theft are more easily managed. With instant data availability, complications from high-bill complaints are reduced to a brief customer service call or a quick online check of usage by the customer, thus allowing a reduction in call center and general operations staff.
Beyond the tangible, system related benefits are unseen, yet even more valuable in the eyes of your customers and stakeholders. The ability to collect interval data far more frequently than other AMR installations allows your company to analyze and predict usage patterns and implement demand forecasting plans thus reducing both internal costs and costs to the end user. During peak periods, opt-in, auto-curtailment plans can be activated at a moments notice to reduce the need for plant expansion and open market purchasing. DVM also equips the utility to better manage and quickly respond to and restore power when outages occur. Collected data can also be provided as a commodity to other other parts of the utility and outside businesses interested in utility usage statistics and patterns. Interval data can also be used by the utility to provide Time of Use billing as mandated by utility commissions and to differentiate the utility in a competitive environment. The availability of voltage data at each meter point also augments your existing SCADA system. The internal and trickle-down effects of the DVM system are nearly endless and will save your company millions in lost revenue.
Not only will your utility benefit directly from these changes, but your public image will be transformed as you begin to provide more effective and timely service, lowered rates and intuitive programs designed to assist and inform your end users.
