Transcript Slide 1

Russ Vanos
Senior VP Water & Public Power
Itron Inc.
Spokane Valley, Washington
June 29, 2006
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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Restoration of Utility Assets:
A Balanced Approach To
Technology Investment
URBAN WATER COUNCIL
“Water System Disaster Recovery Workshop”
© 2005, Itron Inc.
Catastrophic Effects Facing Gulf Coast
 Millions of lives were impacted by the 2005 Atlantic
hurricane season.
> Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest
hurricanes in the history of the United States.
• The storm surge caused major or catastrophic damage along the coastlines of
Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, including the cities of Mobile (AL), Biloxi
and Gulfport (MS), and Sidell (LO).
• Responsible for $75 billion (2005 US dollars) in damages, making it the costliest
hurricane in U.S. history.
• The storm killed at least 1,836+ people, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane
since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.
 Pipeline to sustainability and life was severely
damaged – destroyed in many cases.
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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Tools needed for Revenue Generation
 Basic Metering – starting point
> “Cash Register” for water providers
> Actual consumption is measured
> Accounts for almost every drop delivered
 Metering methodology impacts revenue
> Manual – labor intensive, safety, security
> Automated Meter Reading – Mobile, Fixed-Network
 AMR (Automated Meter Reading) brings greater efficiencies
> Collects accurate consumption data
> Reduces operational costs
> Improves customer service
> Valuable conservation tool
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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Walk-by/Drive-by AMR
Functionality:
 Radio Frequency Transmission
>Collects consumption reads
tamper status, ID, etc.
Strategic Applications:
 Lowest cost form of monthly,
weekly, sometimes daily reads
 Prepares the meter for more
advanced metering
 Base from which to expand to
advanced AMR
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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Advanced AMR: Fixed-Network
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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Advanced Meter Reading
Advanced meter reading technologies enable:
 Frequent collection of consumption data for billing
 Collection of usage data for
> Data logging for usage profiling to manage conservation
programs
> Leak detection behind-the-meter to reduce lost water and
increase supplies
 Distribution system leak detection to reduce
unaccounted for water for better supply management
and to plug revenue leak
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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The Water Resource Scorecard
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Today, utilities need additional tools help
to more effectively assess AMR
technology benefits for standard
business case analyses
The water resource scorecard is a fourlevel hierarchy, each of which measures
improvement and provides direct
benefits to the performance metric
above it.
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© 2006, Itron Inc.
Measures how effectively a utility’s daily
activities support its long-term strategy.
Demonstrates how water utilities can
help all stakeholders, from employees to
customers to shareholders, despite their
divergent needs.
Itron AMR technology can provide
numerous benefits in these, and many
other, areas – all of which can be
demonstrated through a water resource
scorecard.
Key
Performance
Improvement
Overall
Utility
Benefit
Financial
Has water utility
financial performance
improved?
More efficient water
operations.
Customer
Satisfaction
Do customers
recognize that water
utilities are delivering
more value?
Faster response to
water customer
consumption inquiries
and disruptions to
service.
Internal
Processes
Have water utilities
improved key business
processes so that they
can deliver more value
to customers?
Increased meter
reading efficiency and
accuracy.
Learning
and Growth
Are water utilities
maintaining their ability
to change and improve?
Increased information
about customer
behavior.
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Water Resource Scorecard - Metrics
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© 2006, Itron Inc.
Here’s how Itron AMR can improve utility performance, as measured with 5 performance metrics.
Customer
Satisfaction
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Reliability
 Improve water conservation management – leak/tamper/reverse flow verification
 Improve utility planning through increased knowledge of daily and/or hourly usage on equipment such as meter and
endpoints
 Proactive maintenance management and asset management with more refined data down to the service level
 Improve ability to expand remote monitoring of customer consumption
Profitability
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Reduce outstanding collections amounts via remote turn on/off
Reduce unbilled consumption via on-demand reads
Increase the meter read to bill cycle time via on-demand reads
Improve revenue forecasting – provide mid-cycle revenue estimates, reduced estimated bills.
Cost
Efficiency
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Improve meter reading efficiency
Improve distribution survey information, eliminating need for separate survey meters
Remote reprogramming of central control units (CCUs) to avoid costly field visits
Reduced maintenance of meter batteries – since the data collection software keeps track of time
Standardize/upgrade meter asset base
Reduce customer calls from reduction in estimated bills and ability to settle high-bill disputes over the phone
Revenue
Assurance
 Offer innovative pricing options to customers – Water Fixed Network (WFN) Hosting Services model
>Provide real-time water information for supplemental fee
>Increase water portfolio offerings with advanced communications services
>Offer remote reading of other water utility meters (e.g., competition)
Eliminate meter reading errors and estimated bills
Facilitate customer-specified billing due dates
Provide advanced service options
Access on-demand reads or viewing of recent usage data by customer service reps in response to billing inquiries.
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Itron AMR’s Prowess as a strategic tool
 A water meter is the “Cash Register” for providers
> Collects accurate data for billing – actual consumption is measured.
 Our AMR technology can – and should – be used for
much more than meter reading
> Collection of usage data
• Data logging – for usage profiling to manage conservation programs
• Leak detection – behind-the-meter to reduce lost water and increase supplies
 To enhance productivity and operational excellence,
utilities must move beyond simple cost-benefit
analysis.
> Utilities must consider the high-level benefits of AMR, such as
enhanced customer satisfaction and reliability.
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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Best Practices – Mobile AMR
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Lafayette Utilities System (LUS), LA
> 47k water and 57k electric services
> Hard to access/read accounts
> AMR enables reading more efficiently and safely
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Abita Springs, LA
> 5k water and gas services
> Read manually – high labor costs, incorrect readings
> AMR reduces operations cost, provides efficient and accurate readings
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Philadelphia Water Department (PWD)
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Provides service to over 2 million people and surrounding areas
Generates revenue from over 470,000 customers
97% of meters are inside customer’s property
Before AMR 9/10 bills were estimated; now 97% are actual reads
Prior to AMR over 362 positions; now 245
Handled over 175,00 billing related calls; now less than 98,000
“Revenue Protection Program” – recovered $16.5 million due to unbilled or
inaccurate billed accounts
> Comprehensive Theft Detection Program, Leak Detection
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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Best Practice – Advanced AMR
 Cucamonga Valley Water District (CVWD)
> CVWD bills customer on a 60-day cycle
> Residential water leaks were hard to detect in a timely
manner
> CVWD detected a significant leak in a residence that
measured at just under two gallons lost per minute or
86,000 gallons of water (about $200) per month
> Fixed-Network meter reading technology provides:
• Timely detection of water leaks
• Improved customer service
• Technologically advanced conservation tool
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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Itron - Global Utility Leadership
 More than 3,000 energy and water providers in more than 65 countries
employ Itron solutions to meet critical business objectives
 Applications localized into eight languages
 2,100 employees in offices in eight countries
 Industry leadership in multiple solution areas throughout the world
> More than $200 billion of billing data handled annually
using Itron solutions
> More than 55 percent market share for AMR in North America, with more than
40 million AMR devices shipped
> More than 90 percent market share in solid-state electricity meters, with more
than 15 million shipped
> More than 5 million water AMR devices shipped
> In Japan, more than 50 million meters monthly are read using Itron technology
> Nearly 80 percent of North American electricity demand forecasted using Itron
software, with similar leadership in other markets such as France and Benelux
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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Itron - A Culture of Innovation
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© 2006, Itron Inc.
Significant R&D investment—$45 million in 2005
160 U.S. and international patents
Revolutionized the meter-to-cash cycle
Handheld computer-based meter data collection systems since 1977
First multi-vendor C&I meter data collection and management software in
1980
AMR systems since 1986
Solid-state residential electricity metering since 1998
Nearly 20 years of experience offering the industry’s broadest portfolio of
fixed network technologies
Industry-leading software for energy and water management
The only open, end-to-end portfolio of software solutions for
meter data collection, management, application and analysis
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Any Questions?
[email protected]
Thank you
© 2006, Itron Inc.
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