TITLE
Increase appropriations in the Gas Fund (EF 301) in the Long Beach Gas and Oil Department (GO) by $22,094,013 to allow for the implementation of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure project; and
DISCUSSION
The Long Beach Gas and Oil Department (LBGO) provides natural gas utility service to nearly 150,000 customer accounts in the cities of Long Beach and Signal Hill. The City currently contracts with Corix to conduct 1.8 million manual readings of LBGO's gas meters at a cost of $1.4 million annually. With manual meter reading, every month, a Corix employee must drive to the customer's locale and then physically locate and read the gas meter. In most cases, a Corix employee must enter a customer's yard to gain access to visually read the meter's dials. The meter read information is then downloaded at the end of the day to be transmitted to the billing system.
However, the natural gas industry is quickly transitioning away from these traditional manually-read gas meters toward devices known as "smart" meters. This is accomplished through the installation of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system. AMI is an integrated network of smart meters, communication collectors, and data management systems that enable seamless communication between utilities and their customers. No longer is it necessary to make a vehicle trip to a customer's location to visually read a meter to determine consumption data. Real-time interval usage updates are read accurately and uploaded electronically.
AMI is now a best practice in the utility industry. The Department of Energy estimates over 65 million smart meters will be installed by 2015. In California, every natural gas utility has already completed or is in the process of converting to AMI. By automating the meter reading process, utilities are seeing new operational efficiencies and cost savings, while customers are able to receive accurate hourly consumption information to help them better understand their usage ...
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