In this week’s board meeting Birmingham Water Works (BWWB) discussed first steps for bringing in something critics have called for as a result of faulty billing issues: advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

Derrick Murphy, BWWB’s assistant general manager for Engineering and Maintenance said that right now the utility is only working on a request for proposal (RFP) to bring consultants in that will help begin the process of moving toward automation.

Murphy told board members that installing AMI would benefit BWWB customers by raising the percentage of accurate bills to nearly 100% and enhancing the utility’s ability to detect leaks.

Murphy said that if the RFP is approved, selected consultants could begin the onboarding process as early as July.

AMI and automated meter reading (AMR) have been in public conversations surrounding BWWB since last year as residents grappled with missed bills and bills that were significantly higher than usual as a result of mass estimations.