Portland Water District upgrade sparks scrutiny of Sensus iPERL smart meters

PORTLAND, Maine (WGME) — The Portland Water District is replacing nearly all 55,000 of its meters over the next few years.

The CBS13 I-Team discovered that the company behind those new meters has a history of legal settlements.

Water district leaders say many of Portland’s current meters need to be replaced.

The Portland Water District is partnering with Core & Main and VEPO Metering to install new Sensus iPERL smart meters.

The I-Team found Sensus’ past hasn’t been without issues.

In 2015, Sensus was forced to replace more than 1,000 meters in a Chicago suburb after their iPERL installations gave false readings.

Then in 2018, 47,000 defective meters had to be pulled and replaced in an Atlanta suburb.

CBS13 asked the Portland Water District if they knew about these problems.

A spokesperson said yes but said those defects were fixed more than a decade ago.

Sensus admits the issue came from meters built in 2014, citing manufacturing defects.

The water district says the current model of the iPERL is widely used, with more than 12.5 million in service across the U.S.

The meters coming to Portland are stamped 2025.

But why Sensus? The district says it ran a competitive process and Core & Main, which exclusively installs Sensus in the Northeast, won out.

They call it the best option for technology.

These iPERLs are non-mechanical, meaning they don’t wear down like older meters, promising better long-term accuracy.

The I-Team asked how will customers know these new meters are accurate?

The district has already installed about 5,000 iPERL meters in recent years and claims they’ve “proven themselves.”

They randomly test meters or will do so at a customer’s request.