City Utilities began its first round of interviews with candidates vying to succeed General Manager John Twitty, who is retiring from the Springfield utility provider in June.
Members of the General Manager Search Committee and the board of public utilities met with six candidates, whose names have yet to be released to the public, beginning on April 5. A series of interviews was scheduled to wrap up by April 12.
Four of the six finalists are from out of town, while two are internal candidates, according to CU spokesman Joel Alexander.
Once the group of finalists is narrowed further, Alexander said the names of the remaining candidates would be released.
“There has been some discussion of having a public meeting or public forum with those final candidates, but that has still yet to be determined,” he said.
Smart meters Willy Haffecke, assistant manager of electric transmission and distribution for CU, said 300 smart meters began to be installed at area businesses on April 5. The new automated metering systems are equipped with cell phone chips, allowing CU to collect electric readings on demand.
The old automated system will be replaced at a cost of $730 per unit covered by CU. The smart meters were purchased from Jackson, Miss.-based Smart Synch and, according to Haffecke, should continue to be installed through August.
He said current automated systems are read monthly, and that data is often handled several times. The new meters will utilize wireless technology to increase billing efficiency and prevent errors.
“All we’ll have to do is call the meter and download it. That will allow us to collect the data automatically. We’ll collect the data daily instead of monthly and that data – since it would be collected in a digital file – would be automatically uploaded into the billing system, so we don’t have to handle it,” Haffecke said.
Alexander said the new systems would allow customers to monitor their usage daily instead of monthly, which could help them control costs. Haffecke said the existing meters cannot be retrofitted, which is why the meters will be replaced. He said customers would not be charged for the new meters and no jobs would be lost as a result of the installation effort. [[In-content Ad]]
Dame Chiropractic LLC emerged as the new name of Harshman Chiropractic Clinic LLC with the purchase of the business; Leo Kim added a second venture, Keikeu LLC, to 14 Mill Market; and Mercy Springfield Communities opened its second primary care clinic in Ozark.
