ATLANTA – February 23, 2006 – Energy theft in the United States is a billion dollar business, and by many accounts, represents between .5% and 1% of any singular utility’s overall revenue. For a company that has annual revenue of $1 billion, 1% may seem like a fairly small and harmless number, but in actuality, it represents a $10 million loss.
Many utilities have deployed automated meter reading (AMR) to cut rising operating costs and streamline their billing and customer information systems, according to Chartwell’s most recent Metering Research Series report, Revenue Protection: Using AMR and Other Tools to Guard Against Theft and Unintentional Losses. As an added benefit, some utilities are also using AMR for theft detection. However, as some utilities have discovered, AMR is a good first line of defense, but it is far from being an end-all solution to stop theft detection and non-theft related losses at the meter. Many revenue protection experts say intelligent customers have discovered ways to bypass or manipulate their meters.
As many utilities have discovered, AMR is best used in conjunction with a meter data management system (MDMS). For example, this enables utilities to sift individual customer consumption reads through special queries and programs built into their systems. In some cases, it helps identify losses that may have gone undetected before, especially on a commercial scale. Commercial accounts usually represent a significant - if not a majority – of revenue lost due to meter theft or non-theft related losses at the meter.
Revenue Protection: Using AMR and Other Tools to Guard Against Theft and Unintentional Losses 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:
- The Chartwell AMR Vendors & Technologies 2006 Report;
- The Chartwell Report on Meter Data Management;
- The Chartwell AMR Report 2005, 10th Edition;
- Chartwell’s AMR for Distribution Efficiency.
You can purchase and download these reports from Chartwell's Energy Library at www.energylibrary.com.
