Our Customer First initiative is more than a phrase; it's a mantra we're committed to—at all levels of our organization. You are our top priority, and everything we do is with you and your satisfaction in mind. We dedicate this recurring column to our most important audience, our customers.

Randy Bays President, Sensus

Aside from air, nothing plays as integral a role in everyday life as water—from drinking and hygiene to agriculture to tourism and more. Each is impossible without adequate water supplies. That's why this issue of Customer Connection is devoted to water, the most vital of all resources.

As we in North America enjoy the lazy, hot days of summer, water scarcity is hitting close to home, especially for folks in California and the Southwest. However, it's not just a U.S. or North American problem. It's a global concern.

According to the United Nations, approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide will live in areas of absolute water scarcity within the next decade. In addition, approximately two-thirds of the world's population will face water stressed conditions in the next 10 years. Even in areas where water is readily available, millions of gallons of treated water are lost to leaks each day.

Those numbers alarm us, and we're actively trying to combat them. Our smart water network technology can deliver water saving results and mitigate the impact of drought from day one of implementation. Our new Drought Resource Center (see Helping You Better Manage Water Scarcity later in this newsletter) gives you the facts and resources you need to better manage limited water supplies and includes recent news releases from customers using our technology to successfully fight drought.

We cover other top-of-mind topics in this issue, too. Safety continues to be a priority for us and our many electric utility customers. We pledged to play a leadership role in developing solutions addressing their concerns, and we've made good on that promise. Stratus™, our latest electric meter, sets a new industry standard for safety and overall performance (see New Electric Meter Provides Intelligence at the Edge for more details). Our partnership with GE further rounds out the choices we offer our customers. In fact, Sensus will soon be the only manufacturer to offer two UL 2735 certified meters integrated with the FlexNet® communication network.

Expanding our capacity to better serve you is what drives us. Every day we push ourselves to get better, to reach farther, to achieve what seems beyond our grasp. We do that because we know that's the only way we can continue to be of service and value to you. We're humbled by the confidence you've shown in us, and we pledge to continue to earn that confidence. We're proud of where we've been, and we're excited about what the future holds for us—together, as we reach farther.

Faced with recent droughts and the mission to improve the quality of life for its customers, community and the environment, Etowah Water & Sewer Authority selected the Sensus FlexNet communications system and iPERL® meters to conserve its limited water resources. Since deploying FlexNet, the utility has improved water conservation, enhanced customer service and reduced non-revenue water.

Download the case study to learn more.

Got a compelling story of your own? One that will educate and enlighten others in the industry? We want to hear from you. Contact Paula Dickerson, and share your story. The next customer highlighted here could be you.

Drought and water scarcity are issues affecting us all. While not every state is dealing with extreme conditions like those found in California, states across the Southwest, including Arizona and Nevada, are experiencing severe or extreme drought as well. Even states with relatively plentiful water supplies are not immune. An extended dry spell could quickly turn into a major issue almost anywhere.

We understand how daunting it is to fight drought and water scarcity. You need timely, fact-based, data-driven information. You need answers to your questions. And you need resources and the latest news about how to best manage limited water supplies.

We've put that all together for you in one location, the new Drought Resource Center. It's the one place you can go to learn about the issues—and the solutions, like our smart water network.

Visit the resource center today. Come back often for updates and new information that we'll regularly add. By partnering and leveraging the latest technological innovations, we can and will begin to reduce water scarcity in the U.S. and beyond.

Your operations depend on more than monitoring just your meters. You also need to keep track of your distribution lines, pump stations, vaults and pressure gauges. Wouldn't it be great if you knew the status of your assets or when security had been breached with an open door or valve, too? With Sensus® Smart Gateway, you will.

A battery-powered FlexNet system interface, Sensus Smart Gateway allows you to transmit critical information from remote locations to your office—without the need to "plug" into electrical power. It enables you to retrieve data on operational performance from all locations in a timely and cost-efficient manner. This helps you proactively address preventive maintenance in the production and distribution system and identify equipment failures and potential theft or tampering.

What previously required an outflow of resources or a significant investment in infrastructure can now be achieved through a simple addition to the FlexNet system. You can respond faster with fewer resources, including those costly truck rolls.

Benefits of Sensus Smart Gateway include:

• No external power required
• Leverages existing FlexNet network
• No additional infrastructure necessary
• No costly filters or batteries to maintain
• Cost-effective option for extensive data acquisition
• Aids in operational improvements
• Scalable to meet the needs of water and gas utilities of all sizes, geographical locations and requirements

"Sensus Smart Gateway adds value to smart water and smart city initiatives by providing additional data at a very low cost per data point," said Dan Pinney, Global Water Marketing Director. "That additional data helps public service providers make smart decisions faster, helping to ensure fewer service interruptions for their customers."

Sensus Smart Gateway will be released in December with a limited supply available in October. Contact your sales representative or send us an email to learn more.

Electric utilities and municipalities play an important role in leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) to balance supply and demand, restore service faster following outages and encourage consumers to conserve electricity. With new, groundbreaking metering technology from Sensus, they can capture and analyze the data that provides intelligence at the edge of their systems for unparalleled efficiency and responsiveness.

The Sensus Stratus residential meter delivers more data than any other product on the market to ensure the safe, accurate and reliable management of the electric grid. Combined with true two-way communications on the Sensus FlexNet network, utilities and municipalities can instantly configure, upgrade and customize the meter's electricity management platform.

"It's a new day for electric metering in North America as we launch the smartest and most efficient meter to date. The engineering and testing behind this new meter confirms our commitment to continuously evolve our technology to standards beyond what the industry expects," said VP of Marketing Greg Myers. "We have invested heavily in the past three years to better understand the environmental and operational conditions that utilities face and developed a meter that goes beyond ANSI and UL 2735 standards. This truly is a better mousetrap."

The new Stratus meter is available in form 2S Remote Disconnect and supports multiple applications including outage management, opt-in, opt-out and conservation voltage reduction. Other meter forms will be available in the future.

Contact your sales representative or send us an email to learn more.

If you haven't already, we invite you to register for the 2015 Sensus Reach Conference, October 25-28 at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld® in sunny Florida.

From hands-on technical workshops to product roadmaps to customer case studies and lively roundtable discussions, the agenda is jam packed with opportunities for you to:

• Expand your knowledge of our product, solution and services portfolios and learn best practices from experts and peers
• Learn how to leverage the value of your investment in our products and solutions with training from subject matter experts
• Share insights and discuss the latest trends as you connect, learn from one another and join together to reach farther

You can also visit the Partner Pavilion exhibits, participate in Sunday's golf tournament and enjoy the local amenities.

New this year are the Sensus Reach Awards. We're recognizing the profound contributions public service providers make to the quality of life around the world. Help us celebrate those achievements and nominate another Sensus customer, distributor or employee, your company or even yourself. The deadline to submit your nomination is 7:00 pm (EDT), Friday, August 7, 2015.

Register by September 18, and you will lock in early bird savings of $100 on the conference fee and another $100 on technical workshops. See you in Orlando this October!

For the past two years, Sensus hosted its Charity Golf Classic benefiting Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina. With the help of our customers, distributors, partners and vendors, we've raised more than $70,000 to support the agency, which grants wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses.

We're doing it again this year on Monday, August 31, 2015 at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus, NC State University, and we invite you to join us.

"Sensus is committed to the communities we serve and is proud to demonstrate this commitment through events like our Charity Golf Classic," said Jim Mundell, Vice President of Customer Operations. "We appreciate the support of our employees and sponsors for making this partnership so successful and encourage you to participate as well."

Help grant wishes for children and empower them to fight life-threatening medical conditions. Space is limited; register today. Consider one of the many sponsorship opportunities available, too.

The Sensus Partner and Advisor Network, or SPAN, is a forum for all Sensus customers to exchange ideas, solve problems and maintain a conduit for information with Sensus. We recently caught up with the chairman of the water subcommittee, Terry Hughes, water distribution superintendent, Berkeley County Water & Sanitation (BCWS), to find out what was on the subcommittee's agenda for this year.

Two of the first things you notice about Terry are his commitment to his work and his firm belief in the value of the FlexNet system. He's a determined man, driven by goals and a strong sense of responsibility.

One of the goals closest to him is increasing the subcommittee roster by another 20 to 25 utilities by year's end. That's a tall order, but it's definitely within sight, especially with Terry at the helm.

Since taking on the role of chairman, he's been laser-focused on increasing membership. As he sees it, it all boils down to one word—participation.

"Participation gives us a stronger voice back to Sensus," said Terry. "Instead of city A, B, C, D and E calling in with their individual concerns, SPAN enables those cities to come together and speak with a strong, unified voice."

SPAN subcommittees ensure the customer voice is heard throughout the year. The monthly conference calls enable members to participate in an ongoing conversation—one you're encouraged to join.

Terry offers this challenge: "Come together. Share your experiences, both good and bad. At the end of the day, that will make not just the technology better, but each one of us, too."

To learn more about joining the SPAN Water Subcommittee, please contact Terry at [email protected] or 843-810-6022 for more information.

Sensus and our customers will participate in a number of conferences in the coming months. Be certain to stop by our booth and attend the sessions we or our customers and partners are speaking at while you're there. Visit our website for a complete list of upcoming events.

• Midwest Energy Assn. - Gas Operations Technical and Leadership Summit
  August 11 – 13, 2015
  Rochester Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, NY
  
   
• Smart H2O Summit
  August 17 – 19, 2015
  San Francisco Marriott Marquis, San Francisco, CA
  

  On August 18 from 2:00 – 4:30 p.m., Sensus Application Engineer Ryan Carnathan will present on "Getting a Return on your Technology Investment."

  
   
• Smart Water Summit
  September 20 – 22, 2015
  Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, CA
  

  Sensus will host 10 boardroom sessions on topics most relevant to water utilities.

  
   
• National Information Solution Cooperative (NISC)
  September 23 – 25 and September 28 – 30, 2015
  The Arch, St. Louis, MO
  
   
• IES Street and Area Lighting Conference
  October 4 – 7, 2015
  The Westing Harbor Hotel, Savannah, GA

• Sensus and GE's Digital Energy business (NYSE: GE) are working together, integrating Sensus FlexNet communication technology into GE's existing I-210+c™ electric meter—its most advanced residential electricity metering solution. An initial launch of the GE I-210+c FlexNet-enabled meter is expected in July with general availability in the second half of 2015. Sensus and GE are exploring the opportunity to extend their collaboration to include IEC meters.
   
• As the summer heat forces air conditioning units into overdrive, our nation's power grids are stressed to keep up with demand. With the help of the Sensus Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) solution, Huntsville Utilities is meeting customer demand without sacrificing service.
   
• Water restrictions, conservation rebates and turf removal are some of the ways the City of Fountain Valley encourages residents to save water as California's historic drought continues. The city relies on the Sensus smart water network to bring those efforts to the next level by regularly monitoring water usage and proactively sharing that data with residents and businesses, enabling the entire city to work together to conserve water and prevent leaks.
   
• Optimize your investment in the FlexNet communication system with Sensus Managed Services, which includes Software as a Service (SaaS) and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS). Reduce IT and operational costs, lessen risk through disaster recovery and system configuration, increase security and availability and accelerate time to market with new technologies.
   
• Oregon's largest customer-owned utility, Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB), will deploy Sensus technologies for its more than 154,000 water and electric customers. The solution, which includes the FlexNet communication network and Software as a Service (SaaS) empowers EWEB to improve customer service through both leak detection and outage management.
   
• For the second year in a row, Sensus received the award for Best Smart Grid Solution at the Municipal Smart Grid Summit (MSGS) for its Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) product portfolio. MSGS officials cited the "advanced measurement, data collection, analysis and control capabilities that help [our] water and energy customers improve operational efficiency while reducing environmental impact" as their reason for recognizing Sensus.
   
• Sensus Vice President of Marketing Greg Myers shares best practices for smart grid networks in this March 2015 article in Electricity Today.