ATLANTA - About half of North American utilities use or are looking to use automated meter reading (AMR) systems to detect energy theft. But in cost-justifying AMR, utilities should be careful of how much revenue they estimate will be generated from these systems’ abilities to detect tampering, according to AMR for Theft Detection: the Truths and Myths, a new report from Chartwell.
Some vendors promote AMR’s effectiveness against theft detection and some utilities have, in fact, attributed thousands – or even millions – of dollars to increased revenue from improved tamper detection. But other utilities have found that AMR’s ability to detect theft is, at best, limited, and at worst, completely ineffective, according to the report.
About 20% of utilities use or plan to use AMR for theft detection while another 25% are considering doing so, according to Chartwell research included in the report. In fact, tamper detection is the most popular benefit of AMR, as almost 10% of utilities already use AMR to help detect tampering, Chartwell data indicates.
Many AMR systems can detect and signal various methods of theft and current diversion, including meter tampering, outages and usage on inactive accounts. However, AMR cannot detect when customers tap in ahead of meters – a common practice among commercial customers, says the Chartwell report.
AMR for Theft Detection: the Truths and Myths includes two case studies, in-depth analysis of how AMR can be effective for detecting theft, and a bonus chapter that examines the state of energy theft and other non-AMR methods to combat tampering. One case study examines why one large Eastern utility turned off its AMR system’s theft detection features after receiving numerous flags not related to theft. The other case study details the expectations a large Midwestern utility has for using its wireless fixed network to detect usage on inactive accounts.
The report, which is available for $250, is part of the Chartwell Metering Research Series, an ongoing information service that provides utility case studies; topical analysis and research centered around AMR; and a database of more than 400 utilities and data on their AMR systems. Membership in the series is available for $2,495 annually.
For information about the series, the report on AMR for Theft Detection, or the AMR database, contact us at (800) 432-5879 or (404) 237-9099. Press contact: Garrett Johnston, (770) 924-2438, gjohnston@chartwellinc.com.
