Fortis BC – Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Following in the footsteps of BC Hydro’s smart metering roll-out, Fortis BC recently filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project. Released on July 26th, the application outlines the plan for AMI including the costs, the benefits to customers and the public consultation process. Advanced meters or ‘smart meters’ provide a number of advantages for consumers and the utility alike including real time access to energy information, reduced estimates for billing, quicker notification of outages and electricity theft reduction which costs millions annually.
The full application can be found through the following link: Fortis BC AMI application.
A few high-level bullets on the AMI program include:
- NUMBER OF METERS – 115,000 meters exchanged in total.
- COST – $47m AMI program cost.
- TIMING – Meter exchanges would begin in 2014 and be complete by the end of 2015.
- ENVIRONMENT – Eliminates 191,000 tonnes of GHG emissions from meter reading vehicles.
- THEFT PREVENTION – Electricity theft costs Fortis BC about $3.7m annually.