ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The city of Albany announced today, April 12, that Albany Utilities crews are almost finished changing out the old utility meters for Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) meters.

The city said the project is 87% done as of April 7. That marks 78,275 of 89,931 meters that have been exchanged so far.

City officials said this project is meant to, “modernize the utility’s infrastructure, improve efficiency and increase the availability of usage information to give you better insight over your utility consumption.”

They said the change could lower utility bills in the city.

The difference between AMI meters and older technology is that AMI meters send data directly to the utility office remotely, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Older meters require workers to go to each site to manually read meters. The EPA says this technology can quickly recognize if there is a problem, such as a water leak.

There are still 11,625 meters to be exchanged in Albany, according to the city. Officials said it is important to make sure that the meter(s) at your home or business are accessible to technicians so that they can swap the old technology for AMI. If meters are not accessible to technicians when they arrive, the city said they will leave instructions to coordinate a resolution.

The city’s press release said that while some customers have concerns with AMI technology, there is no opt-out option. All Albany Utilities customers will have an AMI meter.

We understand there are customers with a variety of reservations and concerns about having an AMI meter. However, we assure you that AMI technology is designed to be safe and reliable. And although this technology is new to the City of Albany, it is not new to countless utilities across the United States, including neighboring towns and cities right here in Georgia. Our decision to move to this system aligns with our commitment to providing safe, reliable and low-cost utility services.

For more detailed information about the project and its progress, you can visit the city’s website here. If you have further questions about the project, the city said to contact Albany Utilities at 229-883-8330.

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