Many utilities view smart meters as an essential investment that can streamline operations and allow them to access the kind of data that’s increasingly essential to meet a diverse array of needs, from customer experience to outage management and decarbonization planning. But they’re only partly correct. While granular, timely meter data is indeed essential, smart…
There’s a dirty secret in the utility metering world: most smart meter communications networks are single-use, expensive, and proprietary. This outdated networking approach is leading to vendor lock-in for utilities that reduces choice and cost-effectiveness, and to reduced meter functionality through unnecessarily slow data transfer speeds. The good news is that a modern AMx strategy…
According to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “roughly 27% of all U.S. households … have had difficulty paying energy bills or have had to keep their homes at an unsafe temperature because of energy cost concerns.” And energy bills continue to increase in many regions. Utilities are ramping up efforts to improve…
Reducing water waste is more important than ever with historic climate change-induced droughts (like the Colorado River’s megadrought). Even without these dire circumstances, we don’t want to waste resources and customers don’t want to pay for water they’re not using. According to the EPA, 10% of homes leak more than 90 gallons of water per…
Outages are at best a bad customer experience and at worst a life-threatening event for people relying on electronic medical equipment. And if an electric utility doesn’t have smart meters (also called advanced metering infrastructure or AMI), they typically rely on customer reporting, which can be slow and may not show the full extent of…
Innovation often looks like adding more features and capabilities to technology. But utility meters might be a different story. Since the late 1800s, meter reading has often entailed having utility staff physically visit a meter (sometimes climbing fences or fending off dogs) to record consumption data once every month or two. Starting in the 1970s…
In January 2022, Ted Schultz, CEO of E Source, wrote “The Sustainable Utility: Data takes center stage.” Not only did the article lay the foundation for this year’s E Source Forum – the annual efficiency-focused forum that aims to help utilities become more efficient and sustainable – Ted makes the case that data will be…
On Wednesday, August 17, 2022, at 1 pm ET, Copper Labs’ CEO Dan Forman will speak at the 2022 AESP Summer Conference, joining a panel titled “Addressing grid resilience, DERs and equity through enhanced distribution planning methods.” Speaking alongside panelists from the DOE, the Orlando Utilities Commission and Cadeo, Dan will focus on why real-time…
On the latest Siemens Connect Ecosystem Series, our CEO Dan Forman joined host Christine Moran to explain how Copper Labs’ unique real-time data collection can help utilities and consumers make more informed energy management decisions. Here is a summary of their discussion. How Real-Time Data Helps Utilities Navigate the Complex Energy Space Everyone knows energy…
“Smart meters aren’t smart enough to solve the emerging challenges our electric, gas, and water grids are facing.” Copper Labs’ CEO Dan Forman talks about the value of real-time data on the Smart Grid Today podcast. Copper’s CEO, Dan Forman, was recently featured on the Smart Grid Today podcast. With podcast host Sam Spencer, Dan…