Council asks for more water, electric meter information

Amherst City Council approved a letter of intention to investigate costs and services for AMP Ohio to replace and read water and electric meters.

Ward 4 Council member Jennifer Wasilk moved to add an emergency clause because an advanced metering system proposed by AMP Ohio would improve safety of city employees.

“I think it’s a good service,” Mayor Mark Costilow said, adding he would share preliminary ideas about financing the project. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner residents will see benefits, and the sooner we will see the safety measures.”

Approving the letter of intention would call for a more in depth proposal by AMP Ohio, Costilow said.

“It will give us a scope and then we can get a price and see the true scope of the project,” he said.

Citing preliminary numbers, the mayor said $134,000 would be an annual fee paid to AMP Ohio. But fees now cost the city about $12,000 a month for reading meters, repairs, shutoffs, licences and data entry, he said.

“That comes up to $144,000; that’s going to be a wash,” Costilow said. “And this would free up guys from the electric department and water department to go out and do other work.

“I did budget $500,000 for water meters. There’s half-amillion dollars out there we didn’t spend.”

All of the nearly 7,000 electric meters would be replaced, he said. Of 6,500 water meters, 4,000 have already been replaced in 12 years, so the project calls for 2,500 more new water meters, the mayor said.

The new automatic read meters send information directly

to the utility department.

If there is a leak, it is caught more quickly, saving money, Costilow said.

The billing cycle is two months behind usage, he said. So, customers are billed in October for August usage. But the new meters can collect usage without a meter reader going to the site.

At the end of the month, the data is sent to the water department. So, in October customers are billed for September usage.

“Over two years’ time, we can finance this program in house,” Costilow said. “Worse come to worst, AMP Ohio has

a finance option. AMP Ohio, we’re already part of this big nonprofit organization that we purchase power from.”

Also, now when a meter misreads, a worker is pulled from another job to tend to the meters, he said.

“We’re paying premium, highly skilled workers to go out and do a meter reading,” Costilow said. “They could be doing other things, like setting a utility pole.”

Council passed the resolution as emergency legislation on first reading with suspension of Council rules.

“It’s going to be a great service to the community,” Costilow said.