The Power of Connections

Embracing Automation The co-op’s transition from manual to automated meter reading technology began with the integration of an automatic meter reading (AMR) system in 1996. This led to the development of an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), a sophisticated system of advanced meters, communications networks, and data management systems

that enable two-way communication between the co-op and its members. The ambitious project required a multimillion-dollar investment over twenty years. “The AMI project allows us to read meters remotely and can also detect power outages,” says former manager of administrative services Kevin Hurd, who previously served as manager of member services. “We sometimes know that people are out of power before they call us, and that helps with providing a much higher level of service and reliability to our members.” AMI also monitors electric load information on an ongoing basis and alerts the co-op’s engineering team when the electrical demand in a certain area is nearing the capacity of the existing transformer infrastructure.

The advanced meter is read remotely and can detect power outages.

GPS and GIS Technology Guide Crews Until the late 1990s, a drafting mapping system provided information to produce printed maps that documented every line, pole, and piece of hardware used to deliver electricity to each member’s home or business. Line crews had to rely on cumbersome map books in their vehicles to assist them in locating outages and other service appointments. And those voluminous map books had to be regularly updated by the co-op to reflect new construction and ongoing changes in the service area. “It used to take three months to produce paper map books,” recalls GIS Specialist Terry Stone. “They were outdated before the first sets were even printed.” Today, the lines, poles, and hardware locations are marked via a global positioning system (GPS), which is tied to a geographic information system (GIS) that provides real-time access to accurate spatial and geographic data. Crews tap into this system directly from the laptop computers and tablets in their CREC vehicles. “Anyone who looks at a specific map location number for an account can see items such as meter

54 Cuivre River Electric Cooperative