Sensus FlexNet Project
City of Georgia
The City of Cartersville made the decision to invest in Sensus AMI meters for our electric, gas and water customers so we can provide our customers with real-time data on utility consumption, to use this technology to catch issues before they become problems and to reduce billing errors and operating costs. Our investment in AMI meters allows Cartersville to be more responsive as we continue to provide high quality services to our customers.
—
Dan Porta
City Manager, City of Cartersville
PROJECT
OVERVIEW
Our exible and scalable Sensus FlexNet ® AMI solution is meticulously designed to enhance billing processes, optimize resource utilization, and elevate customer service capabilities. This modern solution aims to transform your business today, while also supporting the future growth and evolving needs of both your utility and your customers.
30,000 meters were installed.
City of , Georgia
PARTNERSHIP
Together, we navigated challenges, brainstormed solutions, and ultimately delivered a project that shows what teamwork can accomplish. The collective efforts, dedication, and expertise that each partner brought to the table, allowed us to deliver a project that we can all be proud of.
RFP Awarded
02.25.20
TIME L I N E PROJECT
This project was particularly
ECCO collaborated with the City of Cartersville to eliminate the manual reading of gas, water, and electric meters. Initially, some departments were skeptical about the new solution. Now, they're asking, "How did we manage before?"
This project has streamlined metering processes, making them easier, more ef cient, and more productive for the city. With the support of our partners, we delivered all the requested features outlined in the RFP, and we did so under budget.
Omni
Stratus IQ
iPerl
BASE STATIONS
We installed six comprehensive base stations that handle the reading of meter data and transmit it to the cloud.
These all-in-one stations read gas, water, and electric meters, and communicate the data to the tower, ensuring seamless information transfer.
City Gate Base Station
City Gate Base Station is an example of a Panel Antenna with 80º spectrum,
Contractor doing a site walk, looked at utility pole to determine the preferred locationof the base station. soil analysis.
Contractor drilling 28" diameter hole for the base station. The poles are delivered in 3-40' sections (finished base station will be 105' above ground and 15" below ground).
ECCO and the contractor pre-assembling the antenna on the pole before installation.
A view of the panel antenna.
City Gate Base Station
City of , Georgia
A boom truck ready to assemble at the base station.
Assembling the first section. The black area has been treated for below ground installation.
City Gate Base Station
City of , Georgia
Filling the base with concrete, securing the pole to withstand 125 mile an hour winds, rated for F3 tornado.
Section one is complete and once concrete sets, this step will be repeated two more times.
City Gate Base Station
Workers are physically connecting the coax cable to the panel antenna which runs through the middle and out of the bottom to connect to the base station.
A completed view of base station.
JFH Base Station
A 360º omni-directional antenna was installed at a height of 270 feet. Workers skillfully climbed the cellular tower, winching the antenna into position.
Two workers alternated between climbing for 30 minutes and taking 15-minute breaks, continuing this cycle until the antenna was successfully winched to the top.
A view inside the base station during construction, showcasing the coax cables descending from the top. An ice bridge is in place to protect the cables from falling ice.
We're nearing completion. Inside, all the equipment is in place to listen to the meters, gather readings, and send the data to the cloud. All of our base stations are grounded to a cell tower grounding bed. We have gone over and above to ensure safety to the cell tower.
A base station showing the coax (black) cord.
JFH Base Station
City of , Georgia
The finished station.
Our partners drilling for soil samples.
County Water Base Station
Drilling a hole for a pipe that extends 15 feet below ground and 105 feet above ground.
Trenching for AC power to base station, City of Cartersville provided trenching and the cable.
Base station antenna.
Coax cable emerging from the pole is grounded by a copper piece, ensuring compliance with all county electrical codes and specifications.
Completed base station. You can see the power box in back - small pole with box.
County Water Base Station
City of , Georgia
A close-up view of the inside of the box, illustrating how data is transferred. The mushroomshaped dome is a GPS device. The center of photo is the wireless modem we use to transfer the data.
Coax cable connected to the antenna on top of the base station. The unit is grounded, AC power is connected, and a wireless modem is in place for data back haul.
County Water Base Station
City of , Georgia
The finished station.
We installed sixteen (16) Sensus® Smart Gateways into the gas system to monitor the distribution pressure throughout the city's service territory. This system takes 300 psig inlet pressure down to 30 psig outlet pressure for their distribution system. The system is scaleable to provide future growth for other smart technologies.
— Freddy L. Morgan, MBA, CRPF ECCO has been an excellent partner in the setup and implementation of our AMI project. Jeff Swart, Danielle Williams, and their team have provided us with exceptional service as we migrated through all the ups and downs of a project of this magnitude. The City of Cartersville is better positioned because of our partnership with ECCO.
Assistant City Manager, City of Cartersville
THANK YOU
Together we successfully installed six base stations and 30,000 meters and transmitters across three verticals, gas, water, and electric.
We wanted to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to each member of the team for the outstanding work and dedication exhibited during the project. The team’s expertise, professionalism, and commitment to excellence were evident in every phase of the project.
Special shout-outs go to Dan Porta, Cartersville City Manager, and Freddy L. Morgan, Assistant City Manager, both champions of this project. It has been our pleasure working with such a talented and dedicated group of individuals. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 and supply chain issues, the project came in under budget. We are con dent that our successful collaboration is just the beginning of many more achievements together.