Modern AMI for utilities: Maximizing value from smart metering

Stage 2: Approved and Currently in Deployment

Once utilities receive approval to invest in AMI, the focus shifts to preparing customers and the organization for transformation, deploying it efficiently, and integrating AMI technology into the business. AMI deployments typically take place over multiple calendar years and manifest a new way of doing business for nearly all elements of utility operations—with significant impacts to customer operations and engagement. 

The scale of field and back office investment and change must be considered, and history has shown that traditional methods of managing scope, schedule, and budget alone isn’t enough. Active, transparent, and collaborative leadership and execution is required across working groups to ensure that the AMI investment will deliver on the promised quantitative and qualitative benefits. This includes effective integration of systems, tools, and business processes aligned to a shared vision for future state operations.

Stage 3: Fully deployed

Following a full AMI deployment, utilities will often declare victory after the long, expensive, and labor-intensive efforts taken to complete the program. While there is certainly reason to celebrate and recognize this important milestone, utilities must avoid the temptation to consider the program “done” and move on to the next effort.

One of the most exciting elements of an AMI transformation is the wide range of opportunities that exist to further improve the customer and employee experience, optimize operations, and identify incremental value to be delivered after the completion of deployment. A recent ACEEE survey suggested that most electric utilities surveyed who had deployed AMI were underutilizing the investment for core customer, operational, and energy reduction use cases. 

One specific example of AMI being underutilized was revealed in 2019 EIA data that showed that more than two-thirds of electric utilities with at least 100,000 AMI meters have less than 1% of customers participating in dynamic rate programs of any kind. Dynamic rates are only one of many additional value-adding opportunities that AMI enables, but by remaining focused on such use cases, deriving value from data, and implementing greater functionality, utilities will be well positioned to greatly exceed initial business case benefit delivery targets.

Stage 4: Deployed and mature

For utilities that have seen success leveraging their AMI investment, there are opportunities and challenges that still must be addressed. Aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets and advanced customer programs around electric vehicles, energy efficiency, and demand response have many technologically mature electric utilities looking for more innovative ways to leverage AMI usage data and other distributed sensors. Water and gas utilities are also in the early stages of exploring more advanced AMI and distributed sensor capabilities and can look to build off key lessons learned in this space by their electric counterparts.

In the coming years, early adopters of AMI will increasingly see meters approaching end of asset life or network service agreements requiring extension and renegotiation. Major advancements in AMI technology over the last 15 years will play a crucial role in how utilities look to potentially upgrade their existing infrastructure, as well as what options they have available regarding support and warranty agreements.  These considerations make it clear that AMI is not simply a one-time investment, but rather a new and integral part of the operating infrastructure for a utility that must be proactively monitored and managed.