The City of Neenah Water Utility faced infrastructure and connectivity challenges that made deploying a standalone AMI network difficult. Landis+Gyr partnered with Neenah and local electric utility We Energies to provide access to We Energies’ existing AMI network through a managed lease, allowing Neenah to fully manage its AMI solution using Landis+Gyr’s multi-tenant Head End Software.

Key Challenges

• Standalone water utilities often lack access to essential infrastructure, such as utility poles and electric service at the meter, making it difficult to deploy and support reliable AMI communication networks.
• Water meters are frequently located in basements or underground pits, where cellular connectivity is limited or unreliable, further complicating network design.
• The cost and complexity of building a standalone AMI network can be difficult to justify, resulting in ROI challenges for many municipal water utilities.
• Outdated AMR systems can lead to endpoint failures, excessive water loss, and limited visibility into usage, increasing operational risk and customer frustration.

Key Benefits

• Deploy water AMI using an existing electric AMI network—without the cost of building new communications infrastructure.
• Accelerate the transition from AMR to AMI through a managed, multi-year network lease that lowers risk and reduces costs.
• Secure, multi-tenant Head End Software enables each utility to independently manage its own devices and data.
• Two-way AMI communication reduces truck rolls and improves operational efficiency through over-the-air meter reading.
• Near real-time usage data and alerts enhance customer engagement and enable faster leak detection.
• Electric utilities offset network investments through lease revenue, maximizing the value of existing infrastructure.