Allen Fair, president of Crystal Systems near Lindale, TX, discusses the utility's implementation of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for its 2050 account holders. Crystal Systems began researching AMI in 2008 but costs were too high, so it built an AMI reserve fund from 2010-2013. It deployed fixed infrastructure in fall 2013 and started installing smart meters in fall 2014, planning to complete installation by April 2016 using two employees. The AMI implementation has reduced meter reading costs, increased accuracy, shrunk the reading window, and enabled effective water conservation.