Dakota Supply Group - Index

Dakota Supply Group - dakotasupplygroup - Index

Keeping An Eye On The Target
Shawn Pelot, supervisor of Meter Services
at Owatonna Public Utilities, is an enthusiast
of Cowboy Fast Draw. In this “new” sport,
competitors draw a 45-caliber Colt Peacemaker
and shoot at a two-foot target, 21 feet away, in
under a second. It takes a keen eye and quick
hand coordination to succeed. It also takes the
ability to do a lot of things at once in a short
amount of time, which makes it a lot like
automated meter reading.
At Owatonna Public Utilities, meter readers
utilize automated meter reading technology to
register water, electric and gas usage
information from a home all at once with
Owatonna Public Utilities has the equipment
to test all of its meters in-house.
a mobile reader. It’s innovative and efficient,
and it was all made possible in 1998 with the help
of DSG Metering Technology.
“We needed an all-encompassing meter
reading system that could read all three – gas,
electric and water,” explains Pelot. “An Itron
system from DSG Metering Technology was able
to facilitate that for us, plus provide an interface
to MV-90 (a multi-vendor meter data management
system for collecting and managing data from
the complex devices typically used for industrial
customers). It enabled us to take our capabilities
to the next level.”
The city of Owatonna, Minnesota, has long
been an innovator in both public services and
public utilities. Through the years, the list of
accomplishments that Owatonna Public Utilities
has achieved has made it one of the state’s
most respected public utilities. It has a long
tradition of innovation and progressive ideas
(see the timeline on the next page).
Continued on page 32
Shawn Pelot started a career with Owatonna Public Utilities in 1985 and is one of eight employees.
METERING TECHNOLOGY
Spring 2008 CONNECTIONS
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