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AMI 2.0 and end-of-life smart meter replacement for utilities

By UPA’s count, its crews replaced about 191,000 meters with Itron Riva smart meters for SMUD through March 2026, and Unitil names UPA as the company changing out its earlier smart meters.

In 2025, SMUD’s board also added battery replacement for about 24,000 Landis+Gyr meters to UPA’s contract.

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See programs we’ve worked on

A row of electric smart meters mounted on a wall
A bank of electric smart meters.

Replacing an existing smart-meter fleet

SMUD’s change-out records cover installation, scheduling, hiring and training, vehicles, handheld equipment and handling retired meters. Unitil’s customer page names UPA for replacing its earlier electric smart meters.

Keeping equipment and customer records in step

A replacement plan should spell out meter IDs, readings, exchange records, the billing hand-off, exceptions and acceptance. Current production rates, staffing and service commitments belong in the proposal for your program.

See AMI lifecycle management for maintenance after deployment.

Programs we’ve worked on

SMUD’s records cover the contract and the program total; the 191,000 replacement figure is UPA’s own count. Unitil names UPA for replacing an earlier generation of meters.

See the full track record

Working with procurement

Use the programs above to judge relevant experience, and ask us for current capacity and qualifications for your contract.

Contractor
Utility Partners of America, LLC, headquartered in Greer, South Carolina
Service
AMI 2.0 and end-of-life smart meter replacement for utilities
What the work covers
End-of-life electric meter exchange; field scheduling and access planning; retired-meter handling within the contract; meter identifiers and utility data handoff; exceptions and utility acceptance.
Scope and dates
Set out the asset types, territory, program period, utility responsibilities and acceptance criteria in the RFP.
Qualifications to ask for
Current state and work-specific licenses, insurance, bonding, crew training and dated safety figures with their definitions.
Capacity and service levels
Ask for the staffing plan, production assumptions, escalation process and reporting commitments.
References
The programs listed above. Ask us about reference contacts for your procurement.
Contact
Talk to us about an RFP or call (864) 269-2302

How a program runs

Each phase is agreed with the utility. Durations, staffing, service levels and acceptance rules depend on the contract.

  1. Agree the scopeSettle the asset types, service area, responsibilities and acceptance rules before any field work is assigned.
  2. Plan access and routesSet priorities, customer notices, appointment needs and escalation contacts with the utility.
  3. Do the field workWork to the agreed scope and record the asset information the utility needs.
  4. Review exceptions and dataAgree how incomplete work, access problems and records are reviewed with the utility.
  5. Close outReconcile accepted work and flag any follow-up service or maintenance.

Common questions

Straight answers for utility teams. Customers with a question about an appointment should start with their utility.

What is second-generation AMI replacement?

It means replacing an installed smart-meter fleet, or its modules, at the end of their working life or as part of an upgrade. The utility decides the equipment, the system integration and what counts as accepted work.

How does billing keep running during a replacement?

The plan has to cover meter readings and IDs before and after each exchange, how data is handed over, how exceptions are handled and who is responsible for billing. Agree those controls with the utility before crews go out.

Are battery replacements counted as new meter installations?

No. Replacing a battery and exchanging a meter are different jobs. SMUD’s approved battery work covers about 24,000 meters, and SMUD hasn’t yet published how many are done.

Sources

The public records behind the figures on this page.

Planning a meter or field program?

Tell us the work, the service territory and the timeline. We’ll put you in touch with the people who run that kind of program.

Talk to our team

Or call (864) 269-2302.