Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Heredia (ESPH), the public utility company of Heredia in Costa Rica provides public lighting, telecommunications, electricity, and water to the cantons of Heredia, San Isidro, San Rafael and Barva. ​ The company is highly committed to protecting the environment and to innovation and has pioneered the application of digital solutions. 

• The aim of the project was to improve the hydraulic performance of the ESPH water distribution network and to optimize the management of customer meters throughout the network, to avoid commercial losses due to sub-metering. 
• From a social perspective, it was critical to limit water price rises by improving management efficiency through the application of artificial intelligence and big data. 

SIWA Meter Data Analytics

• The SIWA Meter Data Analytics has monitored and optimized the performance of the water meters in ESPH since 2018. The initial analysis performed by the software determined that the average measurement error level was 7.5%; Over 16,000 meters should ideally be replaced to reduce the error level to 6.3%, estimated as the optimal level from an economic point of view.​
• During 2021, 7,500 meters identified according to the criteria specified by the tool, were replaced. The result was an 8% reduction in average measurement errors and a 10.6% reduction in the levels of meter under-registration. 
• The meters replaced in line with the criteria specified by the tool showed up to 5-times higher revenues than meters replaced using the previous replacement criteria, which had been based mainly on meter age. 
• The solution was integrated into ESPH’s day-to-day operations, helping the water utility not only to replace meters at an optimal rate, but also to monitor the performance of the various brands of water meters.​