A method of automatically determining how a plurality of monitoring devices are linked together in a utility monitoring system, comprising: receiving from each of the monitoring devices respective device data that includes a plurality of values that are indicative of a characteristic of a utility measured by and stored on the corresponding monitoring device; calculating, using one or more controllers, a first variance of the values received from a reference one of the monitoring devices; calculating, using the one or more controllers, a second variance of the values received from a second of the monitoring devices; responsive to the first, variance or the second variance not satisfying a variance criterion, storing on one or more memory devices an indication that the corresponding monitoring device is an orphan; responsive to the first variance or the second variance satisfying the variance criterion, including the corresponding monitoring device in a set of non-orphaned monitoring devices; responsive to the reference monitoring device and the second monitoring device being in the set of non-orphaned monitoring devices, segmenting, using the one or more controllers, the respective device data for the reference monitoring device and for the second monitoring device into a corresponding plurality of data segments; calculating, using the one or more controllers, a correlation coefficient based on the data segments associated with the reference monitoring device and based on the corresponding data segments associated with the second monitoring device; and responsive to the correlation coefficient satisfying a correlation criterion, storing an indication on the one or more memory devices that the reference monitoring device is linked to the second monitoring device in the utility monitoring system. receiving from each of the monitoring devices respective device data that includes a plurality of values that are indicative of a characteristic of a utility measured by and stored on the corresponding monitoring device; calculating, using one or more controllers, a first variance of the values received from a reference one of the monitoring devices; calculating, using the one or more controllers, a second variance of the values received from a second of the monitoring devices; responsive to the first, variance or the second variance not satisfying a variance criterion, storing on one or more memory devices an indication that the corresponding monitoring device is an orphan; responsive to the first variance or the second variance satisfying the variance criterion, including the corresponding monitoring device in a set of non-orphaned monitoring devices; responsive to the reference monitoring device and the second monitoring device being in the set of non-orphaned monitoring devices, segmenting, using the one or more controllers, the respective device data for the reference monitoring device and for the second monitoring device into a corresponding plurality of data segments; calculating, using the one or more controllers, a correlation coefficient based on the data segments associated with the reference monitoring device and based on the corresponding data segments associated with the second monitoring device; and responsive to the correlation coefficient satisfying a correlation criterion, storing an indication on the one or more memory devices that the reference monitoring device is linked to the second monitoring device in the utility monitoring system.