Achieving Infrastructure Resiliency and Preparedness for a Water and Energy Industry in Transition

Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce Greenville Water and Alectra Utilities as recipients of the ninth annual Excellence in Resourcefulness Awards in collaboration with Itron. The awards were presented during Itron Inspire 2024, Itron's premier customer conference.

Both utilities have exhibited exceptional operational outcomes while delivering strong customer satisfaction ratings. Their successes can be attributed to their early planning for decarbonization and water infrastructure resiliency.

Excellence in Resourcefulness – Energy: Alectra Utilities

Canada has plans to decarbonize its electric grid and achieve a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. Alectra Utilities is the largest municipally owned electric utility in Canada, based on number of customers served. Alectra Utilities commenced operations in 2017, following the merger and acquisition of several utilities serving 17 communities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe area of Ontario. The utilities involved in the merger were among the first in the world to adopt AMI technology as early as 2006. To further future-proof its system, the company is transitioning to AMI 2.0. The next generation of AMI will help accelerate and prepare for electrification and decarbonization initiatives. AMI 2.0 is expected to provide customers with new insights into their energy usage, support advanced customer engagement, and enable enhanced integration of grid edge technologies such as distributed energy resources and electric vehicles.

"Seventy-five percent of Alectra Utilities' meter fleet is approaching end of life. To avoid major costs, disruption of existing meshes, and customer billing service interruptions, the utility is taking a highly strategic approach to transitioning to AMI 2.0", stated Farah Saeed, Industry | Director Energy & Environment Growth Advisory at Frost & Sullivan.

Aged meters are removed from specific territories and are stocked to be reused as temporary meter replacements until the AMI 2.0 network can be established. The utility plans to deploy AMI 2.0 meters in territories deemed as highest risk first. It is also conducting what is referred to as breadcrumbing in where meter trails from micro meshes are created to ensure seamless communications between networks.

Excellence in Resourcefulness – Water: Greenville Water

Nestled near the Appalachian Mountains and the major metropolitan cities of Atlanta and Charlotte, the City of Greenville can best be described as an idyllic, community-oriented, blissful, and fast-growing city. The municipal water utility, Greenville Water, has been exhibiting historic growth these past several years. It has been adding over 400 new accounts per month. It is home to 40+ Fortune 500 companies, including BMW, Lockheed Martin, and Michelin, to name a few.

The main attraction of Greenville Water is its highly efficient water infrastructure, which also has won awards for its high-quality drinking water, including the AWWA 2024 Exemplary Source Water Protection Award. The water municipality has been able to maintain one of the lowest average monthly bill rates in the country, of merely $12. This mid-size municipality of 194,000 customer accounts has demonstrated that competing resources are not a barrier to operating a highly efficient water network. Greenville Water selected Itron as its preferred technology partner over 20 years ago. With continuous oversight, the water municipality has perfected its transmission and billing automation system with a one-day read- to-bill window.

"The collaboration between the two companies laid the foundation for 21st century modernized and agile critical infrastructure. By continuing to perfect the current system, Greenville Water has been able to maintain non-revenue water stats to just below 14 percent and significantly lowered its number of truck rolls, reducing overall its carbon emissions," noted Saeed.

As part of the selection process, Frost & Sullivan conducted in-depth research and interviews and evaluated utilities against industry best practices and the decision criteria, including societal impact and business impact for each category. Indicators for societal impact indicators include delivering superior technology-driven resource management and resource-conscious programs that are tied to enhancing overall customer experience and engagement for resourcefulness.

Indicators for business impact indicators include a well-drafted vision for implementing a technology-oriented resourcefulness strategy that yields operational efficiencies and strengthens the utilities or city's image as a leader and advocate for sustainability.

Read the press release from Frost & Sullivan here.