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HSUD going to digital metering By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer The
Holly Springs Utility Department is in the midst of changing over its
metering system and eventually hopes to read electricity, water and gas
meters electronically. Don Hollingsworth, general
manager of HSUD, said the Tennessee Valley Authority, which produces
electricity for the area, is requiring its distributors to replace old
electric meters with a digital meter by year 2012. The
utility has already installed a number of automatic metering devices
over the HSUD system which cuts down on manual reading of meters and
ultimately the cost of meter reading, Hollingsworth said. About a dozen
meters a day are being changed out by utility workers tasked with
switching out the first 300 old meters. The
digital meters can be “read” from the utility office and if there is a
problem with a customer not realizing how his meter is running up a big
bill, the system will assist the customer in understanding electricity
use. Later on down the line, power companies will
charge customers time of day rates, where peak use rates will be higher
at certain hours of the day. Hollingsworth said
he expects the city to “go totally automatic” in October. The new TS2
meters will send real time data back to the office on all three
utilities when the system is built. It is expected to cost HSUD about
$1.2 million to complete the automatic metering system, he said. He
said some, but not as many, meter readers will still be required for
routine operations. The new digital meters will reduce the loss over
the line that is not accounted for due to the aging of the old meters,
Hollingsworth said. Once the system is complete,
all meters will be read the first day of the month. But the billing
cycle and due dates will still be staggered for convenience of the
utility, the customer, and the billing department. “We cannot bill and collect on the same day,” explained HSUD accounting manager D. Miller. She said as employees learn the new system, the utility gets better satisfaction rates from customers. “We
are learning and growing,” she said. “If we talk to a complaining
customer and we have a printout, we never have another complaint.” Following
the discussion, Hollingsworth asked the board if the city wants to
participate in a free energy audit through the Mississippi Development
Authority. The board voted to participate. In other business, the mayor and board: • learned that building and grounds is training two new employees while retraining those already on the force. •
heard a request from chief Robert Pearson to participate in a Jag
grant. He said he would apply for $21,000 and buy equipment. Aldermen
will be offered training on the National Incident Command management
system. Training will be on-line at the Information Technology Center. • declared a state of emergency to repair under-washing on Van Dorn during recent rains. •
took a report from IT director Ken Robnison on the results of OSHA
training of city employees. Several classes have already graduated, he
said. • discussed a property swap between First State Bank and the city.
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