Advanced Metering Infrastructure

AMI for Public Utilities

Better manage outages, service calls, distribution system maintenance, and the customer experience with Advanced Metering Infrastructure solutions from Hometown Connections.

AMI doesn’t have to be costly and complex. Hometown Connections offers a scalable, lower risk, and cost-effective AMI pathway to make it accessible to all community-owned utilities by deploying best-of-breed infrastructure (meters, wireless communications, applications, systems integrations) through a turnkey managed service.

Learn More About AMI Solutions

For Ephrata, Pennsylvania, the AMI solution has led to improved efficiencies in billing because AMI eliminates manual meter readings and data entry errors.

– Case Study of Ephrata AMI Solution

Benefits of Advanced Metering Infrastructure

The solution from Hometown Connections enables community-owned utilities of all sizes to secure the many benefits of AMI.

Reduce Costs

Reduce costs and improve efficiency by automating meter reads, service connects and disconnects
Increase accuracy of meter reads and billing data, using smart meters and software to capture lost sales revenue
Eliminate misreads from hard-to-access customer locations

Advanced Monitoring

Remote monitoring of the status of meters, transponders, switches, and other equipment across the distribution system
Provide early identification of leaks and meter tampering/theft

Communication and Customer Service

Give customer service representatives on-screen access to detailed usage data to resolve complaints more quickly
Improve communication between utilities and customers through automated inbound and outbound messaging, as well as web portal access to system data
Provide pay-as-you-go options to customers
Provides smart city options such as smart lighting, microgeneration, electric vehicles, voltage control, and transformer load and health monitoring

Features

The Hometown Connections AMI solution adheres to the requirements of a smart grid future.

Interoperable

Hometown’s AMI solution focuses on open standards, incorporating technology with over 27 million endpoints deployed.

Secure

Industry leading authentication, authorization, and accountability through the assignment of unique AES-256 encrypted security keys to each and every Wide Area Network or Field Area Network element, and the ability to rapidly identify, isolate, and change network security keys to network elements if any compromise is suspected

Future Proof

Hometown’s AMI solution features commercially proven capabilities of over-the-air firmware upgrades to all metering end points.

Scalable

The distributed architecture can support millions of network elements. Additional network infrastructure can be added easily to increase the net effective bandwidth of the network in a given area. If certain service delivery points require greater bandwidth, they can be selectively changed with minimum reconfiguration effort and minimal impact on overall network operation.

Resilient

Components are utility-grade, proven to endure for years in extreme utility environments and weather conditions. The AMI mesh network is self-configuring and self-healing, so no single element failure can bring down the entire system.

Your Partner for Advanced Metering Infrastructure

Hometown Connections, Inc. program offering lower risk and cost-effective deployment of advanced metering infrastructure plus hosting and operation-managed services

Learn more about Hometown Connections

Additional Benefits to Community-Owned Utilities

The Hometown Connections AMI solution offers unique benefits to community-owned utilities:

Ability to scale up the system size over time
Ability to purchase meters from a variety of vendors: System supports Itron, Aclara/GE, L+G, Honeywell-Elster, Master Meter, Badger, Neptune, Hersey, AMCO, and more
Savings through aggregated wholesale purchasing of meters, network equipment, applications
Support for the AMI deployment at all levels: project design, project management, customer outreach, and presentations to utility leadership
No head-end system or software upgrade charges
Data protection from the industry’s best cybersecurity
Integration with any billing, SCADA, outage management, or other utility information system (new or legacy) with integration support