The Coldwater Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has chosen Meter Sense and Customer Connect, Harris Utilities ‘meter data management (MDM) solution and customer engagement solution (CES), to enhance its engineering, billing and service processes and encourage further consumers involvement in key conservation programs.

Meter Sense is an advanced MDM solution that transforms raw meter data into valuable business intelligence and enables utilities to improve business process and enhance customer service. Customer Connect is a webbased data presentment tool that enables consumers to access and interpret their consumption patterns, which helps them make smarter choices about resource use, reduce their bills and support utility conservation goals.

Coldwater BPU chose Meter Sense in part because the solution’s rules engine could be configured to manage the influx of data coming from the polyphase meters, and in part because of the solution’s capacity to fully automate billing processes across all meters. The utility also saw value in MeterSense’s potential to enhance its meter reading processes. Coldwater BPU currently reads most of its water and electric meters using automatic meter reading technology. It plans to use Meter Sense to fully automate that function and free up field personnel to perform other, more complex tasks. The utility also expects to draw onMeterSense’s native analytics functions to detect grid losses, manage service disconnects and augment its service team’s capacity to respond to end users’ billing questions.

“Harris Utilities’ track record of support was another key benefit for us,” said Coldwater BPU, Engineering Manager Charles Bauschard. “We’re not a large utility, so it was important for us to work with a partner that stood behind small customers such as ourselves.”

While Coldwater BPU is eager to realize operational benefits from Meter Sense, it is also excited to introduce

Customer Connect to its end users. The utility hopes the solution will create a direct link for consumers between consumption and usage costs, and thereby empower users to change their energy and water usage habits. Specifically, the Home Connect and Bill Connect modules will enable Coldwater residents to access their meter data online at any time of the day via mobile or wired devices, and view and pay their bills online. The

Site Connect module will enable Coldwater BPU to offer rich analytic and reporting tools that enable its C&I

End users to study consumption patterns and compare their usage to other performers on the grid.

“We want to encourage all our customers to use Customer Connect to see their interval data and make

Informed decisions about their energy and water usage,” said Bauschard. “We will also use the application to

Educate more customers about our local and state-mandated conservation programs.”

Bauschard expects the MeterSense systems to be in place and go live the summer of 2013.