Press release
Victoria, Australia, 31st January 2007 - Smart Metering and Sustainable Water Pricing Initiative.
Elster Metering (Pty) Ltd, part of Elster Group, the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of metering and utilisation solutions to the gas, electricity and water industries, have won the Water Smart Australia Programme project in Hervey Bay, Queensland. The project will involve the installation of an AMR “Smart” metering system that allows for water meters on residential properties across Hervey Bay’s supply network to be read remotely.
“This project will allow for the introduction of “Time of Use” billing which will encourage customers to use water in off-peak times, said Rob Campbell, Managing Director of Elster Metering (Pty) Ltd. “Using water at night will be billed at a cheaper rate than during the day, which is a significant development in urban water management and can a make a real difference in how we measure this scarce natural resource."
The Australian Government, together with Wide Bay Water, provided funding of Aus$5.4 million towards the project. Wide Bay Water is the water authority for the City of Hervey Bay which is situated about 230 km north of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.
Elster Metering won this project with their 20mm V100 water meter connected to the Datamatic Firefly radio module (see photograph below). The project will have 20,000 units installed, one on each domestic property. This equipment will enable Wide Bay Water to embark on an Australian and World first “Time of Use” billing system for domestic water, with the objective of shifting peak demand.
Dick Sokol on Email: The exceptional low flow measuring capability of the 20mm V100 water meter, together with Datamatic’s Firefly Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) solution will provide a cost effective and high value radio read system that turns each water meter into a detailed usage and event monitor that will meet Wide Bay Water, Federal and State Government objectives by:
- Pinpointing Water Network Losses
- Reducing Infrastructure Spending
- Reducing Water Usage, and
- Increasing the Value of Water
The system gives Wide Bay Water the option of capturing billing and event data rapidly and only downloading profile data when required.
Supply and installation will commence early 2007 with project completion by mid year.
- ENDS
For further information contact:
Dick Sokol on Email:
dick.sokol@au.elster.com