Whereas Advanced Metering Infrastructure AMI, comprising of smart meters, data management systems, and communication networks, is a key tool in providing efficient, reliable and environmentally sustainable utility services; And whereas the implementation of AMI comes at a significant cost for public utilities: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM encourage the Province of British Columbia to begin exploring a funding model to support the implementation of Advanced Metering Infrastructure AMI across public utilities in the province.
Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions Advanced Metering Infrastructure AMI is already in place for BC Hydro and for FortisBC, which serve the majority of electricity customers in the Province. Both utilities determined that the benefits of AMI to their operations justified the cost of the investment needed, and both utilities recover those costs through their rates. Overall, AMI investments can benefit utilities and their ratepayers without the need for outside funding. BC Hydros internal analysis, published in its Smart Metering and Infrastructure Program Business Case, projected that its Smart Metering Program would provide net savings of nearly 3 billion between Fiscal 2006 and Fiscal 2033. Similarly, in its application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for its AMI project, FortisBC Electric projected that the savings from the investments would reduce rates overall over a 25 year period. It is therefore the responsibility of utilities considering these investments to determine whether those investments make sense in their context and for the ratepayers they are serving.