AMI/AMR Integration Forum

What Is AMR?

AMR (Automated Meter Reading) is a system designed to remotely read electrical meters.  There are many different systems using a variety of technologies.  There are several companies that manufacturer the hardware and software needed to deploy AMR systems.  Many companies that do not deploy AMR systems need to integrate with them.

The purpose of this website is allow persons in the industry to share information about AMR systems so that they can better determine whether an AMR system will benefit their customers and, if so, which system will benefit them the most.

Why AMR?

AMR is more than just reading your meter remotely.  An AMR system provides many other direct and indirect benefits that help the utility and their customers, not the least of which is costs savings.  As energy prices have risen sharply in the past few months, keeping our costs down for our customers has become even more important.

Although features and benefits vary by manufacturer, some allow you access to information that used to be difficult or impossible to obtain such as your own historical usage data or outage data that you can view or download at your convenience.  If your utility provider is implementing AMR, check with them to determine the feature list and benefits.  They will be glad to tell you all about AMR.

Can I Read My Meter?

Most AMR systems still allow you read your own meter.  As they are usually digital, it is even easier to read than the old analog "dial" meters.  Some AMR systems will allow you to read your own meter remotely, too!  Although AMR technology has been around for a while, the costs to implement AMR was prohibitive.  Not only has the costs to implement AMR decreased dramatically, the features and benefits of AMR systems has increased just as dramatically.