ATLANTA – May 11, 2006 – While most utilities need not seek approval from customers when deploying new AMR systems, utilities can reap tangible benefits through well-planned promotions.

What’s more, with the advent of “day 2” benefits, such as outage management, load control, revenue assurance and system monitoring, utilities can find new ways to show customers the additional services provided by AMR, according to Chartwell’s Report on Leveraging AMR with your Customers, Chartwell’s most recent Metering Research Series report.

Chartwell’s Report on Leveraging AMR with your Customers shows that utilities have a unique opportunity to drive favorable AMR customer opinion through marketing plans that are specifically designed for the customers. Chartwell interviewed two dynamic utilities that have well-established AMR systems – Pedernales Electric, the nation’s largest member-owned utility, and PECO Energy Company, the Philadelphia-based subsidiary of Exelon Corp. – to see what past and continual strategies they have used to reach customers. Insight from industry experts and proprietary Chartwell research is also included in the report.

Most customers respond positively to new AMR systems, as it marks an end to estimated meter reads and makes way for more accurate data. However, with new technologies that bolster system monitoring and data management capabilities, AMR represents more than a daily, weekly or monthly read. It means that utilities can restore outages more rapidly, and in some cases, predict outages before they occur.

Chartwell’s Report on Leveraging AMR with your Customers is available to non-Chartwell members for $495, and it is included in Chartwell’s Premier and Metering Research Series memberships. For information regarding the Metering Research Series or Chartwell’s Premier membership, contact Bill Grist at (404) 237-9099 or (800) 432-5879. A free table of contents and summary of this report can be downloaded at www.energylibrary.com.

The Research Series is a 12-month membership that includes a data summary and accompanying database based on Chartwell’s extensive annual utility survey; regular in-depth reports and case studies covering specific products/services or marketing-related issues; one-on-one consultation with Chartwell research staff on topics covered; profiles of vendors poised to help utilities in this arena and more.

Recently released reports include:

• Revenue Protection: Using AMR and Other Tools to Guard Against Theft and Unintentional Losses;
• The Chartwell Report on Meter Data Management;
• The Chartwell AMR Report 2005, 10th Edition; and
• Chartwell’s AMR for Distribution Efficiency.