Thu, Nov 23rd, 2023 - 7:13am
November 16, 2020 - 6:50pm | By Chris Larson
On Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, the West Fargo City Commission approved a project to replace water meters throughout the City of West Fargo with an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system.
AMI is an integrated system of smart meters, communications networks and data management tools that enables two-way communication between utilities and customers. The new system uses base stations to read water meters and sends the information directly to billing, making it a faster, more accurate reading of water meters within the City of West Fargo.
Utility rates will not increase and there will be no additional cost to residents, as this upgrade was included in the utility rate study and budget plan approved by the commission this summer.
The City of West Fargo is planning to update over 9,000 meters starting early spring. There will also be an online customer portal where residents will be able to see and track their usage directly, as well as pay their utility bill online when the customer portal goes live.
“This will enhance customer experience and give them a more accurate reading of their utility consumption in a timely manner,” said Matt Andvik, Public Works Director. “We currently have more than half of our meters due for replacement in the next few years, so the timing to switch to this system makes a lot of sense.”
Contractors will be replacing meters to the new AMI system starting in spring 2021. The innovative system will help reduce costs for metering and billing, give users more control over water consumption, lower utility capital expenses and give customers a faster outage restoration.
The City of West Fargo is the largest city in North Dakota to incorporate this innovative system. To track this progress of this project or learn more about AMI systems, visit https://www.westfargond.gov/1119/Advanced-Metering-Infrastructure-System.
