Manassas Utilities hosts delegation from Brazil

A reverse trade mission from Brazil visited the City of Manassas Utilities Department on May 13.  Their interest was in how the City of Manassas manages its water, sewer and electric utilities.

Ten members of the delegation questioned Acting Utilities Director Tony Dawood about the full deployment of the Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) that is currently underway. This system makes load management more accurate and timely for residents and the local government.

Members of the delegation stood in front of the City’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA) and peppered Dawood, David Jones, Acting Deputy Director of Electric and Ana Davis, Customer Service Manager with questions about the system. 

Dawood explained that SCADA is a tool that allows the City to remotely control electric switches, and monitor sewer flows to UOSA and monitor Lake Manassas and the water tanks from a laptop computer.

The Brazilian Delegation came to the U.S. by way of a Utilities Telecom Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. 

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2013, Brazil was the eighth largest energy consumer in the world and the third largest in the Americas, behind the U.S. and Canada.

Brazilian utilities are investing in telecommunications infrastructure to support their mission critical operations and smart grid modernization plans, according to a news release from Patty Prince, communications manager for the City of Manassas.