Meter ALTAIR V4 + IZAR RC i R4
Before 2015, more than 1.2 million metering connections in Manila, the Philippines, and one of the most populated cities in the world, were read manually. But Diehl metering has helped water utility, Maynilad Water, overcome their challenges when conducting meter reading, and also simplifying the process for them.
Diehl Metering and its partner in the Philippines, Premier FM, have worked alongside Maynilad for the development of its network since 2008 with the installation of water meters. Nevertheless, the operators have come across numerous problems during the tours, such as, traffic jams, meter locations, and reading errors related to manual surveys, among others.
Reading the meters in Manila, the Philippines
Through Integrated Meter Management of Maynilad’s continuous research and development (R&D), Diehl Metering has managed to help them overcome common challenges water utilities face when reading meters as well as simplifying the process for them. For example, in 2013, Diehl Metering deployed 20,000 ALTAIR V4 meters equipped with IZAR RC i R4 radios in a pilot site, which gave them conclusive test results: In less than 20 minutes, a thousand meters were read.
The IZAR radio transmits data every eight seconds, and the “Drive-by” function allows the teams to drive past in cars in the area, with the handheld terminal automatically receiving the data from the meters. From there, a 3G or 4G FTP server transmits the data to Maynilad billing system where the data is stored.
The alarm system safeguards the company against fraud, better manages leaks, and also controls costs among others. Additionally, the meters have reduced non-revenue water (NRW) from 61 per cent to 29 per cent.
