Eudora is installing a new automated system that will make meter readers a thing of the past.

The city is replacing old meters with electrical and water meters that use radio signals, dispensing of the need for traditional meter reading. Assistant City Manager Barack Matite said the new meters are the key component of the city’s $2.51 million energy efficiency upgrades, which includes switching to more efficient LED lighting in city street lights and municipal buildings and upgrading heating and air conditioning systems.

The state-of-the art meters will send customer use information to computers in City Hall, Matite said. That will save the city fuel costs from door-to-door meter reading and allow reassignment of city employees to other tasks. That, however, isn’t the big payoff the city is expecting from the new system.

A bigger perk is expected from the more accurate readings the new water meters will provide, Matite said. Because of malfunctions of the city’s current water meters, the city can’t account for 8 to 10 percent of the water being provided to customers.

That loss of revenue is so great that the city expects to pay off the bond used to finance the system upgrades through the additional revenue that will be created by the more accurate water meter readings, Matite said.

The city is installing the electrical meters with the help of a consultant, a task that should be completed in September, while 360 Energy Engineers of Lawrence is installing the water meters.

Justin Pape, construction manager for 360 Energy Engineers, said the company would start installing residential water meters Wednesday, and would continue through the middle of July. Some new meters have already been installed for large water-use customers, he said.

Automated, radio-signal metering systems have been around long enough to demonstrate their effectiveness and are now the logical upgrade from municipalities or utilities replacing meters, Pape said.

Not only are they more accurate and do away with need for monthly meter-reading trips but they also provide real-time information that can be used to identify customer leaks, Pape said.

As for the LED lights, Pape said they had been installed inside all municipal buildings except the gymnasium at the Eudora Recreation Center. The street light replacement had not started, he said.

Matite said residents have been notified of the meter changeovers through the city newsletter and notes on utility bills. Notices will be placed on doors as meter exchanges start in neighborhoods, he said.