JEA technicians will be working on the first of thousands of customer water meters this week as the utility begins a sweeping upgrade of the systems to make it easier to monitor how much a customer is using.
The upgrades, launching this week in Nassau County, also will ensure that all customers have more information about how much water they use, JEA said.
JEA will upgrade all of its 420,000 residential and commercial water meters over the next four years to new technology known as Advanced Metering Infrastructure. The installation will ultimately phase out an obsolete radio interface system, a more laborious way of reading meters, JEA said.
The installation will include either a new radio device that attaches to the water meter or, in certain areas, a new meter capable of working with the new system, JEA said. There is no additional cost to customers for the new meters.
The JEA cites these benefits to the new technology:
- Customers will be able to easily monitor their water consumption, which can help them to perhaps reduce their consumption and their monthly water bill.
- JEA can perform readings more quickly and efficiently, eliminating manual readings in some neighborhoods.
- JEA also will be able to identify potential water leaks more quickly and notify customers.
JEA will notify customers in advance via postcards and email reminders about upgrades in their community. Customers do not need to be present during the upgrades but should be aware that technicians may need to briefly disconnect their water service while the work is being performed.
The technician will notify customers upon arrival so they can prepare for a service interruption. Once the work is complete, the technician will leave a door hanger at the address.
JEA has contracted with Envocore to install the devices. All technicians will wear an Envocore shirt and drive a truck branded with JEA and Envocore logos.
JEA said it cannot schedule individual appointments for meter replacements.
For more information, go to jea.com/watermeter or call (904) 665-6000.
