Holly Springs Utility Department crisis deepens
Holly Springs officials learned around March 13 that General Electric's automated meter reading system was down, which will require manual reading of meters for an unknown duration.
Mayor Sharon Gipson said she just learned the smart meters are not reading about a week ago. That is creating a crisis in billing at the Holly Springs Utility Department, she said at the March 18 meeting of the mayor and board of aldermen.
Changes must be made in the firewall.
Professional services was authorized to enter a letter of agreement to request assistance from Central Services Association to make changes in the firewall.
There are about 12,000 electric meters and about 18,000 electric, water and gas meters on the HSUD system, according to general manager Wayne Jones.
He said GE has already upgraded its firewall and now HSUD and CSA will upgrade their firewalls in order to be able to “shake hands” with GE's automated meter reading system.
Derrick Jefferson, with the IT department, will work with CSA on weekends to install the firewalls on the HSUD side.
(CSA provides utilities assistance with customer information, financial and customer engagement and payment, engineering and operations and productivity.)
Gibson expressed extreme concern regarding the situation, including how to get the firewalls installed and the length of time it is expected to take to obtain the firewall software, install it and get billing back on the rails.
Jefferson said he has ordered the hardware for the firewall from CDW Corporation was due to arrive Wednesday, March 19.
“How long will it take to make that transition?” the mayor asked. “Because this is going to affect the bills, from what I'm hearing. I'm not a computer person.
“How long is it going to take to get the firewall and get things back up and running?” Jefferson said it could take two months.
“Based on the meeting we had Friday, speaking with Daniel and GE and CSA, about 10 years or so ago it took about 2 months to get it up and running,” Jefferson said.
The firewall blocks threats and quickly mitigates threats that breach a network's defenses.
Cisco provides both hardware and software options.
Jefferson said HSUD will work with professionals from CSA on weekends.
“We're basically trying to reverse engineer without the information,” he said. “So, basically, we'll be rebuilding the whole network, and we don't know what will be disconnected once we start messing with it.”
That comment drew a chuckle out of city attorney John Keith Perry Jr.
“It's not funny, attorney Perry,” Gipson quipped in a moment of levity.
“I got a sick sense of humor,” Perry said.
“So it's two months if it works properly?” Gipson said. “It may be even longer. So we are going to be manually reading? Everything.”
“Yes,” Jefferson said. “Every meter will have to be manually read,” the mayor said. “Yes,” Jefferson said. Jefferson said GE has already stopped communicating with the smart meters at HSUD. An estimated 12,000 electric meters are on HSUD's system.
Water and gas meters are also read, but those meters are located inside the Holly Springs' city service boundaries.
City clerk Jerrica Jones said her meter has not been read since January, providing anecdotal data.
“Mr. Jefferson is saying it is probably going to take two months or greater in order to get everything acclimated,” Gipson said. “I am very concerned about not learning about this until the last moment.”
Jefferson outlined a general plan to replace the firewall.
He said HSUD will begin working with CSA beginning the weekend of March 22 and every weekend taking the network down and every weekend thereafter until the system is repaired.
Gipson asked if that would affect the business office, cashiers, accounting, accounts payable, all of that.
Jefferson said he does not know what all will be affected. “It will be trial and error,” he said. Gipson said GE will still be needed. “It's not so simple to just separate,” she said. “It's like the roses with the weeds. I don't know if we're the weeds or if they're (GE is) the weeds. But we have to have a plan for it right now. We're all like in it together, so there has to be a plan.” She said she needs the details “so I can let the public know, because I'm already getting calls and emails from different individuals.” The mayor asked for a motion to execute a letter of engagement with CSA for professional services and to authorize to post an ad for a meter reading company to come in and help read the meters manually.