http://www.govtech.com/fs/Baltimore-Md-Uses-Smart-Meters-to-Transform-Water-Billing.html
(TNS) — The head of Baltimore’s water department told City Council members Wednesday that he expects the problem of disputed water bills to be greatly improved next year thanks to the rollout of smart-meter technology.
Rudy Chow, the city’s director of public works, told the council’s Budget and Appropriations Committee that the department has progressed significantly in his six years running it.
“We are making a tremendous amount of progress in terms of getting ourselves into a steady state where water billing isn’t a problem on the technology end or customer service,” he said.
The city introduced new meters in October that can measure how much water a customer uses hour by hour and beam back information to the water department wirelessly. It also began sending customers monthly bills at that time. Previously, the department’s crews were deployed to read meters every three months.
