Happy Tuesday, readers. (Nearly the end of July; time flies, “It escapes, irretrievable time,” all that jazz.) 2024’s been one helluva year so far, if you don’t mind my saying so. I hope you’re all well.
Anywho, the news. Let’s jump into it.
Today, we’re talking about Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) and Xylem, a global water technology solutions provider that helps its customers resolve water-related challenges across global utility, residential, commercial and industrial markets.
As the largest Tacoma city government department (publicly owned since 1893), Tacoma residents rely on TPU for safe drinking water and source water protection, as well as info on how Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations are being adhered to for everyone’s benefit.
That said, there’s always room for improvement when it comes to modernizations made actionable – that’s precisely what’s now happening for them, courtesy of Xylem.
For context, Xylem is collaborates with utilities, industrial manufacturers, buildings operators and communities at large to protect and optimize water resources and capabilities therein. “In just a decade,” as one Xylem representative described, “Xylem has grown from a pump manufacturer to a leading global water solutions partner.”
And for what it’s worth, the company’s name says it all; “xylem” is the connective tissue in plants which cleanses and transports water from the root to where it’s needed most in order to sustain life.
That’s basically how this story comes together:
As of this article’s publication, TPU has successfully implemented advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for both its water department and now its power department, too. According to the official announcement, this will give a boost to its residential electric meters “to improve operational efficiency and service for customers as the area’s economic growth rises.” The improved AMI network delivers 6.5 million registered reads every day, enabling customers to reap the benefits of frequent billing with smaller payments and rapidly improved response times.
“We no longer have to estimate meter reads because of access issues, since the advanced meters are remotely managed,” stated Sally Mohr, AMI Program Delivery Director for TPU. “We receive accurate data to appropriately bill customers and ensure efficient customer service, especially during severe weather outages.”
Dan Martin, Senior Data Analyst for TPU, described how they’ve “already seen proactive pressure management that helps us anticipate customer issues preemptively. Averting potential impacts with responsive solutions makes a very real difference.”
A deeper-dive sort of case study about TPU’s utility expansion with Xylem can be found here.
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
