1. 2016 Benchmarking Insights Conference Boulder, CO
Meter Reading
2016 Benchmarking
Insights Conference
Boulder, CO
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2. Agenda Overview Coverage of the Study for Meter Reading
Process Model for Bill For Service
2016 Key Findings/ Points of Emphasis
Performance Profiles
Cost/ Service
2016 Benchmarking Results
Functional-specific findings (Cost, Volume, Practices)
Areas of Focus and Opportunity

3. Overview

4. 2016 CS Benchmark Questionnaire structure
Field Service
Change of Account
Billing Field Orders (meter investigations)
Credit Field Orders
Order Management
Customer Contact
Contact Center
Local Office
Self Service
Contractors
Credit Inbound calls
Revenue Management
Credit Office and Outbound calls
Credit Field and Inbound Contact Policies
Revenue Protection: Office and Field
Back Office
Billing
Billing Field Policies
Payment Processing
Meter Reading
Manual
Mobile AMR
Fixed Network AMI
CS Support and CS IT
Employees: Safety, Staffing
Customer: Customer Satisfaction, First Contact Resolution, Customer Experience, Key Account Management,
Energy Efficiency , Outage Communications
Areas excluded:
Meter Change-out

5. Bill for service Determine Rate And Create Account In Customer System
Read Meter
Process Meter Read
Create Bill
Ensure Accuracy And Send Bill

6. Key Findings / Points Of Emphasis
Volume
Automation levels (in the panel) decreased (1Q levels still above 67%)
Cost
Automated reads are 82% less expensive than manual reads
Service
Over 98% of meters are read

7. Performance Profiles

8. Cost comparison Total 2015 CS Cost Excluding Write-offs Meter Reading
Community Mean = $7.33
Community Composite
Community Composite
Costs are per Accounts * Commodity

9. Meter Reading – Performance Profile
Change in automation demographics in the panel increased costs and reduced read rates
2015YE
2014YE
Mean Q1 Q2 Q3
Bars
Cost
Meter Reading Cost Per Account * Commodity
$7.78
$6.01
$8.46
$9.91 30
$6.02
$3.41
$6.19
$8.51 17
Meter Reading Cost Per Read
$0.80
$0.55
$1.10
$0.29
$0.68 16
Meter Reading Cost Per Meter
$7.72
$6.05
$8.62
$9.77
$5.69
$3.45
$6.52
$7.63
Meter Reading: Manual Cost per Read
$2.84
$0.70
$0.88
$1.24 19
$3.49
$0.63
$0.78
$1.11 10
Meter Reading: AMI 2-Way Fixed Network Cost per AMI 2-Way Fixed Network Read
$0.49
$0.08
$0.71 4
$0.94
$0.06
$0.20
$1.09 24
Internal Measures
Meter Reading Errors (Percent of Reads): Manual
0.097%
0.055%
0.068%
0.125% 22
0.201%
0.096%
0.126%
0.260% 11
Actual year-end read-rate percentage (actual meter reading) - Manual
89.6%
97.5%
94.2%
83.4% 28
95.8%
98.7%
97.3%
94.0% 14
Actual year-end read-rate percentage (actual meter reading) - AMI 1 & 2
93.2%
99.0%
97.7%
89.1% 23
98.8%
99.5%
99.3%
98.9%
Manual Reads Per Reader Per Day
286
389
288
234
254
364
266
132 12
Demographics
Meters on your system read by AMR 1-way or AMI 2-way
30.0%
67.0%
0.7%
0.0% 32
39.4%
67.8%
18.0%
Reads per Meter per Year 9
Electric Meter Density: Meters per Square Mile
402
514
169 71 31
444
536
401 68 15
Gas Meter Density: Meters per Square Mile
593
849
675
348 8
548
829
509
342
Meter Reading FTEs per 100,000 Accounts * Commodity
15.46
4.15
11.95
28.30 26
7.44
4.54
5.74
10.62

10. METER READING Spending
29% increase in the mean
Cost per Acct * Commodity
2015 material
Mean
$7.78
Quartile 1
$6.01
Quartile 2:
$8.46
Quartile 3:
$9.91
The big movement in quartiles is due to change in panel (technology use)
MR Page 3 - FL5

11. 2016 Benchmarking Results

12. METER READING COST & STAFFING
Technology is the main differentiator in costs
Cost per Acct * Commodity
Mean
$7.78
Quartile 1
$6.01
Quartile 2:
$8.46
Quartile 3:
$9.91
Larger % of the panel reading meters manually
MR Page 3 - FL5

13. METER READING COST PER METER
13% increase in the mean
Cost per Meter
This indicator is valuable
Meter population remains consistent annually
Methods of obtaining reads is the cost driver
Mean
$7.72
Quartile 1
$6.05
Quartile 2:
$8.62
Quartile 3:
$9.77
MR Page 8 – FL5 / MR5

14. METERS ON YOUR SYSTEM READ BY AMR OR AMI (all commodities)
9 companies with greater than 80% automation
Method Of Obtaining Reads
12 companies 50% or greater
8 companies at 5% or less
MR Page 13 – MR5

15. METER READING METHOD: ELECTRIC
Method of Obtaining Reads
35% of the community is greater than 50% automated
Last year the panel had greater than 50% of the companies reading greater than 50% of their meters with automation
MR Page 11 – MR5

16. METER READING METHOD: GAS
60% of our companies are reading gas meters with automation
MR Page 12 – MR5

17. METER READING cost BY TYPE
AMI 1 & 2 Way Companies
Manual / AMR Companies
Mean
$6.17
Quartile 1
$2.86
Quartile 2
$7.15
Quartile 3
$9.19
Mean
$9.51
Quartile 1
$9.26
Quartile 2
$9.35
Quartile 3
$9.63
MR Page 5 - FL5
MR Page 5 - FL5

18. Meter Reading Target vs goal Manual
Meter Reading goals are being achieved for manually read meters
Manual Electric Read Goal
Manual Electric Read Rate
Mean
89.7 %
Quartile 1
98.0 %
Quartile 2:
94.0 %
Quartile 3:
79.5 %
Mean
89.61 %
Quartile 1
97.54 %
Quartile 2:
94.20 %
Quartile 3:
83.36 %
MR Page 25 – MR40
MR 29 – MR45

19. Location Of Meters – Electric / Gas
Electric = 85% outside
Gas = 55% outside
MR Page 32 – MR100
MR Page 33 – MR100

20. Manual Meters read per reader per day
1st Quartile reads 40% more meters / day than 3rd Quartile
Manual Reads Per Reader Per Day
Reading meters manually will result in errors.
Even those with automation still have manual reads
Mean
286
Quartile 1
389
Quartile 2:
287
Quartile 3:
233
= Automation Deployed
MR Page 18 – MR10

21. Tracking Meter Reading Errors
Most companies track errors within Meter Reading
MR Page 23 – MR15
MR Page 22– MR15

22. METER READING ERRORS (PERCENT OF READS): MANUAL
Who is initiating check read orders?
Company 74% Customer 26%
Meter Reading Error Rate (% of meters)
Billing Order Per Acct * Commodity
Mean
0.093 %
Quartile 1
0.053 %
Quartile 2:
0.067 %
Quartile 3:
0.113 %
MR Page 19 – MR20 / MR10
FS Page 38 – FS35

23. METER READING ERRORS (PERCENT OF READS): MANUAL
Result of check read order?
43% MR Error, 45% No Problem Found
Meter Reading Error Rate (% of meters)
Field Investigations Resulting in Meter Reading Error
Mean
0.093 %
Quartile 1
0.053 %
Quartile 2:
0.067 %
Quartile 3:
0.113 %
MR Page 19 – MR20 / MR10

24. Meter Reading Target vs goal Automated
3rd Quartile automated performance is 89% versus 83% for 3rd Q performance for manual companies
Automated Electric Read Goal
Automated Electric Read Rate
Mean
93.22 %
Quartile 1
99.01 %
Quartile 2:
97.73 %
Quartile 3:
89.07 %
Mean
91.7 %
Quartile 1
99.1 %
Quartile 2:
94.0 %
Quartile 3:
87.5 %
MR Page 27 – MR40
MR 29 – MR45

25. Collecting Data through automation
93% of respondents have a RF Mesh network
15 minute intervals are the standard to collect data and it performs as intended at a high rate
% Of AMR/AMI Interval Reads Collected
MR Page 39 – MR120
Mean
99.33 %
Quartile 1
99.61 %
Quartile 2:
99.41 %
Quartile 3:
98.84 %
MR Page 29 – MR45

26. When action is taken (Automated meters)
When to take action and what’s the first action taken is varied amongst the community.
# of Missed Intervals
Mean 22
Quartile 1 1
Quartile 2: 3
Quartile 3: 37
MR 53 – MR155
MR 52 – MR150

27. Manual Meters Read by fully deployed AMI companies
Converting 100% of meters is a stretch goal not easily attained
% Of Manual Meters On System
Mean
13%
Quartile 1
1.1%
Quartile 2:
2.2%
Quartile 3:
10.1%
Customers opt out
Signal issues
MR Page 44– MR130

28. TECHNOLOGY USED OR CONSIDERED FOR ACCESS PROBLEMS OR HARD TO READ METERS
Companies without automation are looking for technology to solve access issues. Automated companies are looking to more advanced technologies
MR Page 36 – MR110

29. Areas of Focus & Opportunity

30. areas of Focus and Opportunity
Volume
Meter Reading Errors (MR20) How many meter reading errors were found last year including all meter types?
Cost
Billing Labor and Field Service Labor (FL5) – Errors in Meter Reading are a cost driver down the process.
Service
On cycle read rate (MR45) – Accurately reading meters on schedule is the sole purpose of the organization, it is why you exist.

31. Thank You for Your Input and Participation!
Your Presenters
Ken Buckstaff
Debi Cook
Gene Dimitrov
Rob Earle
About 1QC
First Quartile Consulting is a utility-focused consultancy providing a full range of consulting services including continuous process improvement, change management, benchmarking and more. You can count on a proven process that assesses and optimizes your resources, processes, leadership management and technology to align your business needs with your customer’s needs.
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