BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A series of communication attempts Thursday to City of Bethlehem water customers caused a bit of confusion for some of those customers.
First came an automated message instructing customers to call a provided number, or go online to a provided web address, and schedule a date and time for VEPO (“Veppo”) Metering from Astoria, New York, to come and change their water meters.
A second call came within a few hours from the City of Bethlehem water department, followed quickly by an automated text message also from the city, both confirming that the first call was legitimate.
"To do 25,000 meters is going to cost us $10 million, so that capital cost has always been a challenge."Bethlehem Water Department Director Edward Boscola
“The company sent out a poorly worded text and email asking customers to schedule their meter replacements," Water Department Director Edward Boscola said in a text message during a separate meeting Thursday afternoon.
"We are using a contractor to assist with meter replacements, targeting 4,000 each year for six years, to replace old meters.”
That contractor, VEPO, installs and services smart meters, which record water usage in real time, which to customers, hopefully, means accurate usage numbers.
Boscola said the city sent out its follow-up robo-call to clarify an email and text sent by VEPO Metering earlier in the day that had incorrect information.
'All about setting up appointment'
As might be expected, some customers hit social media to ask whether their friends and neighbors had received the trio of communication.
They had.
And many had, in fact, said they already had their water meters changed in July, after getting a letter in the mail previously and making the appointment.
The process, some said, took just 15 minutes.
"It’s all about setting up the appointments. They have to get into everybody’s basement, so everybody has to be home. That’s the challenge."Bethlehem Water Department Director Edward Boscola
Replacement notices went out to 4,000 customers. The goal is to do 500 per quarter. After that, the next group of notices goes out.
"It’s all about setting up the appointments," Boscola said. "They have to get into everybody’s basement, so everybody has to be home. That’s the challenge.
"Then we have to follow up with people who don't reply. They may think it's junk mail, or they just avoid it, so there’s always a certain percentage of people who get another phone call or an email until they make the appointment."
'An ongoing thing'
The program started years ago with a plan to try to update meters 2022-27. Cost has been an issue.
“To do 25,000 meters is going to cost us $10 million, so that capital cost has always been a challenge," Boscola said. "That’s why it’s been hard to plan and budget for over time.
“This has been planned for years. The city has old meters. Meters should be replaced every 20 years or so. We have a lot that are older than that. We have a little bit of catching up to do.”Bethlehem Water Department Director Edward Boscola
“This has been planned for years. The city has old meters. Meters should be replaced every 20 years or so. We have a lot that are older than that. We have a little bit of catching up to do.”
"Baseline meter replacement rate is about a thousand a year for a number of reasons — because a meter stopped working, or it failed, but we’re just focusing on this six-year period of 25,000.
“After that, we’ll fall back to our normal meter replacement and will be an ongoing thing."
Meters are being replaced by the routes meter readers read meters.
So far, focus has been on South Side Bethlehem, Fountain Hill and Freemansburg. Now teams are focusing on the west side of Bethlehem.
No more meter readers walking the block
The Xylum Sensus IPerl is the new model. It’s a communication unit outside the residence that allows the transfer of usage automatically via radio frequency.
That means no more meter readers manually collecting the information.
“Right now we have to walk down every block on every street and read the digital device on your house outside to pick up the read that way."Bethlehem Water Department Director Edward Boscola
“Right now we have to walk down every block on every street and read the digital device on your house outside to pick up the read that way," Boscola said.
"New technology is taking over, where this communication device outside will transmit the read to central radio towers, then to the cloud, then to our billing system, so all of that occurs automatically.
"That way, we’re able to monitor usage in real time. So we get alarms letting us know there could be a leak, or if a meter fails."
Bethlehem water customers can schedule their appointment by calling 877-860-8376 (VEPO) or online at https://utilityscheduler.com/scheduler/bethlehem.
