Imagine a city without meter reading. The water and electric meters would send a signal, possibly over the Internet, if a large water leak were to happen at a home.

That possibility could be a reality in the city according to Johnson Controls. The group presented findings at Monday’s city council meeting on what the city could do to be more efficient with its utilities.

Chris Downs, a representative with Johnson Controls, said the city’s water and electric meters are 94.4 percent efficient, but the city could save more if they changed utility meters.

“We think you could safely save up to $500,000 a year,” Downs said.

The efficiency rating came from a small sample of meters in the city, but the company would poll a larger sample if the council approved the go-ahead. Johnson Controls engineers also talked with city department heads and looked at billing data.

To pay for the new meters, the city would have to enter into a performance contract, a way to borrow money as a tax-free lease and use the energy savings to pay that money back.

“The money saved in energy and operations pay the money on that debt,” Downs said.

Thus, no rate increases would be needed to pay for the new automated meters. With a performance contract, Johnson Controls and the city would not have to go through a bid process but could pick what meters would work best in the city. Also, there might be some money left over to do other projects.

“We’ve done about 120 of these for water and electric meter operations across the country,” Downs said. “We’ve done about 2,000 performance contracts across the country since its inception.”

Downs said the company has started work in Mt. Vernon, Princeton, Bedford and Indianapolis. With the meters hooked to the utility office, the office will know if a home is using a lot of water at one time for no reason.

“You’re going to have lot more customer service,” Downs said. “You’re going to have instant information, so if Mrs. Smith’s toilet has been running for 24 hours straight, you’re going to know. You can pick up the phone and call them.”

The new meters do not mean a loss of jobs. Downs said in past projects, no utility employee has been fired or laid off.

Mayor Larry Haag started discussions with Johnson Controls a few months ago. The next step in the process is writing an agreement between Johnson and the city for the council to look at. If the council and the Board of Public Works and Safety vote for the move, detailed engineering of city meters would be the next step.

“The day of having a water leak that will cost you hundreds of dollars could be over,” Haag said.

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