As part of an ongoing program to renew and prepare the province's electrical infrastructure for the future, SaskPower is proceeding with the development of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system.
AMI includes the replacement of SaskPower's existing power meters with an electronic meter, installed at a customer's home, farm or business, which provides near-real time information on electrical consumption, as well as operational data. AMI also includes a two-way communications system network that retrieves and stores information collected by the meter.
"Advanced Metering is all about better meeting the needs of our customers and our communities," said Rob Norris, Minister responsible for SaskPower. "AMI will let us find and fix power outages faster so we can get customers and communities back up and running sooner. And at the same time, it will give SaskPower customers access to the best customer service possible."
"With AMI in place, SaskPower will be better positioned to meet our customers' needs. We will be able to more effectively track and pinpoint the location of power outages, and then respond more quickly to restore service. As well, SaskPower's environmental performance will be enhanced, as fewer trips to customer locations will be required and result in a lower carbon footprint," said Robert Watson, president and chief executive officer, SaskPower.
SaskPower will reduce its fuel use by more than 722,000 litres per year once AMI is implemented, resulting in an annual reduction in carbon emissions of 1,500 tonnes.
Other benefits associated with AMI include: Meters will be read daily and monthly bills will be based on actual, not estimated, usage. Billing questions will be resolved more efficiently through access to more metering information. Tenancy changes will be handled more efficiently and effectively as SaskPower's customer service representatives will be able to access metering information in near real-time. SaskPower customer information will remain secure in the new system, as only encrypted metering information will be transmitted.
As customers get more timely information about their power consumption through their electronic meters, they will also be in a better position to implement energy efficiency tips and programs, offered through SaskPower Eneraction.
This investment will conservatively generate $463 million in savings for SaskPower over a 20-year period beginning when implementation is complete. The project is scheduled to be completed by June 2014. Full-scale implementation will take place from 2013 to 2014, with project testing scheduled to begin by early 2012.
