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SUEZ Wins Coveted Water Industry Award for Innovation

SUEZ announced that it has been awarded the Utility Industry Innovation in Water and Sewer by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners at its Innovation Awards ceremony held in Baltimore, MD from November 12-15. Hailed as the leading industry awards to promote and recognize innovative solutions for utilities, SUEZ was recognized for its state-of-the-art deployment of its Smart Utility Network.

SUEZ designed, engineered and deployed a Smart Utility Network to enable wireless meter reading and Internet-of-Things connectivity. The network covers nearly 1000 square miles, including 150 towns and cities in the New York metropolitan area and Boise, ID. To date, over 200,000 water meters have been brought online offering significant benefits for customers:

  • Hourly meter reads, versus monthly or quarterly, satisfy customer desire for more data and greater management of their water accounts
  • Elimination of the inconvenience of having to be home to give access to a meter reader– all reads are now automatic
  • Support of conservation by reducing wasted water – in one example city, customer outreach regarding leaks yielded a 38% reduction in wasted water and reduced the entire city’s demand for water by nearly 5%

“Innovative ideas are generated through the recognition that there are better and more efficient ways to do things. They reach full potential when their application satisfies a wide-reaching need,” said David Stanton, President of Utility Operations. “The Smart Utility Network is a testament to the ingenuity of SUEZ employees and is only the beginning of great changes coming for our customers,” he added.

The Smart Utility Network is part of SUEZ’ four commitments to improving the water value chain. The network enhances Water Resource Management through the reduction of theft of water, increases Energy Efficiency and Health and Safety by eliminating traditional meter reader vehicles, and improves overall Customer Satisfaction.

“Smart networks and big data are changing the way we operate. With over 100,000 more Smart meters expected to be deployed by the end of 2018, our goal is to bring the benefits of our system to as many communities as we can.”

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