The La Grange Village Board unanimously approved the purchase of new advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) equipment Monday, June 8, replacing aging water meter reading technology that has become unreliable.
The village will spend $46,207 to purchase and install a new antenna and base station from Core and Main, the current vendor.
The village’s existing AMI base station, which reads water meters remotely across the village, has reached the end of its useful life and has generated multiple warnings and error codes, officials said.
The new equipment will offer faster data collection, expanded bandwidth, and enhanced encryption, they said.
The current system, which serves as the primary collection point for water meter readings at Village Hall, is critical to customer billing operations. Over the past two years, its declining reliability has forced Public Works staff to conduct manual meter readings, diverting them from other operational needs.
The new equipment will operate across a wider 250 KHz band (up from 200 KHz), allowing for more dedicated channels and higher network traffic capacity. It will also deliver up to 10 times the transmit power of competing models and include enhanced encryption across the private network.
Trustee Shawana McGee noted that Core and Main’s equipment is the least costly option because of its compatibility with the village’s existing water meter infrastructure.
Funds were included in the approved 2026-27 budget.