New era of smart metering for North American utilities

摘要

Despite a traditionally conservative approach to new ideas, the North American water and wastewater industry is quietly adopting more innovative approaches to data collection, analysis, and management. Toronto is replacing 477,000 old water meters with an automatic meter reading system that promises to save money on service calls and will ultimately enable customers to see their water consumption on a web portal. Solutions providers like IBM and Itron are implementing smart water platforms that aggregate and analyze municipal water data so that utilities can reduce leaks, conserve water and manage distribution systems. Even small to mid-sized utilities are taking advantage of the new technologies.