Illinois utilities are sharing AMI to improve meter reading

WEC Energy Group subsidiaries, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, are partnering with ComEd to use its Itron AMI network and support smart technology to improve natural gas meter reading.

The three utilities operate in Illinois, with Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas serving over 1 million in greater Chicago and ComEd supplying more than 4 million consumers across Northern Illinois.

The partnership will see the WEC subsidiaries access ComEd’s existing Industrial IoT (IIoT) network and sharing AMI to eliminate the need to build a separate, single-purpose network.

Itron cites how the collaboration marks a significant partnership between two large investor-owned utilities to share the same network infrastructure across common service territories.

Until now, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas have read their customers’ meters by driving a vehicle down every street and transmitting data from each meter via radio signal.

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The AMI is hoped to significantly reduce utility vehicles from the street and provide better visibility into consumer energy consumption.

“The smart grid and advanced metering infrastructure are delivering benefits not only for ComEd customers but for other Illinois utilities and we’re eager to demonstrate the value of these investments to the customers we share with Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas,” said Terence Donnelly, president and COO at ComEd.

“Using AMI will reduce costs for customers and enhance our level of service,” said Torrence Hinton, president at Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas. “Combined with the environmental benefits, this is a great step forward for everyone we serve, and across the Chicago region.”

This gas meter modernisation project launched in 2022.

In the coming years Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas will upgrade 1 million endpoints to make them compatible with the ComEd IIoT network.