Software & Systems

1 © secure meters Ltd 2010

Understand AMI

3

… or far… or far

Covers 2 typesCovers 2 types

AMR(Automatic Meter Reading)

A mechanism of collecting the meter readings (data) electronically

Manual reading Manual reading

Automatic Meter Reading Automatic Meter Reading

Local AMRLocal AMR

1

2

Not AMR

Remote AMRRemote AMR

From nearFrom near

Customer Outage Detection

Demand ResponseTheft ID

Remote Connect/ disconnect

Remote Meter Programming

Load Control

Price Signals sent to Customer

New Rate DesignAMR

AutomatedMeter Reads

AMR Capability+

AMI

Smart Grid

AMI Capability+

Remote detection

Central and distributed analysis Correction of disturbances on the grid

Optimizes grid assets

Hourly RemoteMeter Reads

Customer Voltage Measurement

Load Profiling

AMR to AMI to Smart Grid

AMR versus AMI

Utility controlled customer loadSmart thermostats

NoneAdditional devices

In Home Display Cost and environmental consciousnessDemand response programs

NoneCustomer Participation

BillingCustomer information systemCustomer data displayOutage managementEmergency demand response

BillingCustomer information system

Key Business Processes

Customer payment optionPricing optionsUtility OperationsDemand responseEmergency response

Monthly consumption based billing

Business Opportunities

Half hourly or interval based for applying dynamic pricing

Cumulative kWhData recording

Remote using LAN communication, four-hourly or at least daily

MonthlyData collection

Electronic with LAN, HAN, load profile and disconnect

ElectronicMeters

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)

Automatic Meter Reading (AMR)

Important Elements and Processes

BenefitsAll stakeholders

Allows ControlLoad shifting, adjusting, curtailing

Produces Information

Useful, understandable, actionable, reproducible

Employs TechnologyCost-effective, digital, scalable, user-friendly

AMI – Core Philosophy

AMI

WPAN WAN/MAN

Radio communication

Key Drivers for AMI

• Revenue Protection

• Load Management

• Better System Planning, Operations and Administration

• Demand Side Management

• Consumer Involvement/ Conveniences

• Energy Conservation

• Carbon Credits

• Embedded Generation, Import Export, Tariff based on various system charges

• Metering data : Interconnection with ERP

Primary drivers for AMI differ from country to country

AMI System Architecture

NetworkGSM/GPRS/

LAN/HAN etc

AMI Process

Home Area Network (HAN)

CommunicationsCore Business Systems

Work & Asset Management

Customer Care & Service

SAP

MD

MS

• Billing

• Customer Information

$$$ $$ $$$$$

Network GSM/GPRS/

LAN/HAN etc

Key AMI Requirements: Read with SLAs1. Metrology :Half hourly consumption for 4Q

1. kWh-Import2. kWh-Export (for embedded Generation)3. KVArh-Lag4. KVARh-lead

2. Daily remote meter reading 00-04:00 hr1. For settlement, daily sales figures are needed by 07:00 hr. Hence the data for previous day should be collected from 24:00 hr to 04;00 for

99.8% of meters,

3. Remote/ local load connect/ disconnect 1. Electricity rules requires that on vacancy, the service fuse should be pulled out, 2. How much would a disconnection cost in India?

4. Auto-disconnection in case of load detection1. Upon remote re-connection, there is a chance that a heater/ iron could have been left in the socket. Upon energisation- this could cause fire.2. Some utility follow the process that there should not be load greater than 100 Watt for the first 120 seconds of remote energisation, else

disconnect and such a system is called as “Auto-disconnect”3. Other utility uses “ARM”

Key AMI Requirements: Read with SLAs5. Controlled load management at meters- based on “off-peak

1. Storage Hot/ Cold water2. Pool pumps

6. Utility control of other loads3. Clothes dryers

7. Randomization of load control4. Synchronized Switching In/ Out of load can disturb the grid and hence the controlled load is randomized.5. Yet, each supply point get the contracted quota of eg 8 hr.

8. Meter loss of supply detection6. Within 60 seconds.7. From 90% of the population8. Technique using last gasp

9.Normal supply Capacity Control9. Applied to kW Import for DSM and kW-Export for Co-gen10. Settable values are (1) kW- Import or Export, (2) Number of 30 minutes cycles to be considered (3) Time for keeping

disconnected.

Key AMI Requirements: Read with SLAs10. Emergency Supply Capacity Control

1. Has a time window for being active.2. kW value for Import/ Export averaged over 1 min3. Sustaining for “y” minutes4. Keeping customer disconnected for “z” minutes.

11. Interface to the Home Area Network using Zigbee SEP

12. Critical Peak pricing: Alarm

13. Power Supply Quality: Min / max voltage, Kaidi Kaifi, outage

14. Event recording: System and operational

15. Remote Firmware upgrade without loosing any data.

16 Time Set17. Tamper Detection

18. Security

Advanced Meter: Single Phase1. Integrated Distribution Line

Communication/ Mesh Radio module.

2. Header for Internal Zigbee HAN.3. Power supply for GPRS/3G/ Wi-

Max beneath ETBC.4. 32.5Amp load control and YT

AMI meter for 3-Phase segment1. Name of the product: Three

Phase meters2. Compact & new look3. Metrology and DLC on

single board: More reliable4. Header for Internal Zigbee5. Power supply for GPRS/3G/

Wi-Max beneath ETBC6. With/ Without 1P 32.5Amp

load control.7. First time in the world:

Phase selection for load control.

8. Flashing “ARM” button.9. Life long battery

LAN: Essential Characteristics1. LAN: Network for data

collection from meter(s) to data concentrator

2. Ideally, meters should be connected to “head-end” without any intermediatories. Cost, ownership and obsolescence are the real driver deciding on LAN/WAN architecture.

3. Categorized as wireless and wired,

4. Wired: DLC/ PLC5. Wireless: Star and Mesh

topology6. Figure of merit of LAN:

meters/ LAN, Amortized cost of Data concentrator per meter and headroom on LAN at maximum traffic.

Collector Collector

Collector100-800 ft

Collector

LAN option: Distribution Line Communication (DLC)

In Home

Display Meter Meter Data Concentrator

HAN LAN WANN

M

S

Red ellipse: HAN Zigbee

Blue ellipse: LAN using DLC

Green ellipse: WAN Wimax

MDC V4

AMI: Benefits• More accurate, timely bills• Complaint reduction• More information available for resolving high bill issues• No meter reader on site • Improved public relations• Faster outage detection and restoration – including nested outages• Inform customers of outages to:

– Reduce energy costs through demand response programs

– Reduce demand charges– Access detailed consumption and quality data– See immediate results for turn-on/turn-off

• Customer pays for actual energy used – move-in/move-out• Customer driven due dates and summary billing – enables SAP

functionality

AMI: More Benefits

• Reduces safety incidents due to fewer field trips• Enables environmental improvement

– Decreased greenhouse gas emissions– Improved energy efficiency– Reduced field trips and vehicle emissions

• Enables net metering, Plug-in hybrid cars and distributed generation• Aids in outage detection• Identifies metered accounts not being billed and meter malfunctions• Simplifies rate changes• Provides potential new revenue from value-added products, services• Reduces congestion in power lines – balanced distribution load

management

Experience has proved that You can do Anything..

• Computer controlled 300 MW load shed?– Turn-on/turn-off through AMI network– Home area network devices for demand response, load shed

• Programmable, communicating thermostats, plug-in-hybrid cars and generators

• Support smart grid direction to minimize throwaway– Response time and speed– AMI is not the only connectivity

• Use thoughtful approach for request for proposal and installation– Design end to end complete process– Don’t build quick and dirt– Think about future

• upgrades of your core business objects

Benefits of AMI: Utility• Improved cash flow: Meter reading to bill float time reduces to the current industry standard of 8 days to 1 day.• Instant final readings and settlement: A special read cost around 30 times the routine meter reading cost. Special

reads are needed on customer moving In/ Out and with AMI system, this cost can be controlled.• Elimination of manual metering capital costs like CMRI, PCs etc.• Fewer meter reading related claims and call center traffic.• Reduction in uncollectible accounts: very few estimated bills which reduces re-billing.• Reduction in revenue losses from unoccupied premises owing to remote disconnect and monitoring kWh

increments in unoccupied premises.• Efficient revenue protection, immediate alarm in case of an attempted tamper resulting in immediate redress versus

waiting for tamper discovery during monthly/ bi-monthly reads.• Reduction in “high bill” complaints as the customer can be notified should their consumption rise above the credit

threshold. • Opening avenues of consumer segmentation by capturing load profile data and doing load research.• Cost free meter re-reads• Flexible billing cycle, matching the consumer’s cash flow• Billing adjustmentsImproved metering accuracy.• Faster outage detection and proactive restoration.• Faster response to power quality problems like low voltage, neutral floating.• Reduction in false outage dispatches• Increased revenues from more rapid outage restoration (reduced loss of sales)• Daily energy balancing for each distribution transformer• Better data for use in optimizing planning and operations Voltage monitoring• Transformer load management • Reduction in load research costs• System planning benefits• In developing-countries - there are various user zones according to different economic conditions and electricity is

surely a necessary commodity for all in this era, therefore the high need of enforcing cross-subsidized slab & TOU tariffs for respective users had become a mandatory requirement.

Benefits of AMI: Society• Deferring capital investment towards generating equipment

through reduced peak demand: Swapping wide area load shedding to In Home load shedding of individual customers non-essential loads like storage heater, changing thermostat settings of the air conditioner.

• Deferring Capital investment towards T&D equipment: Distribution system studies for coincidental loading on distribution transformers, line section, wires, fuses, recloser, feeder and sub-stations.

• Knowledge of peak loading in real time reducing diversity, operating at narrow safety margins maximizing asset utilization.

• Enhance system reliability.• Reactive power management and remote capacitor switching over

the AMI communication network.

© secure meters Ltd 2010

The Way forward to start AMI

Understand Utility’s Objectives Understand the concerns – Why to Go for AMI

Meter reading billing Revenue collection efficiency Tariff

Interval meteringPeak pricing

Theft Demand management Connect/disconnect Any other driver like energy conservation, green house, carbon

reduction Outage management

Understand Utility Objectives Understand the concerns – Why to Go for AMI

Asset management Customer service information Power supply quality and reliability Losses MIS System planning

Suggested Actions to Move Forward

Evaluation of concerns and prioritize Possible solutions and economic evaluation Technology suitability and trials Pilots rollouts

Evaluation of Concerns and Prioritize

Discussion between the utility and solution providers Senior level meetingsWorkshops priority rating to each concernMonitory value to each concern Joint evaluation of concernsPrepare requirement document

System requirementTechnical requirement

Possible Solutions and Economic Evaluation Possible solutions architecture Identifying important stages, stakeholders and system

components Preliminary technical evaluation Preliminary economic evaluation Decide evaluation parameters

Technology Suitability and Trials Technology suitability and trials Work shops on comms technologies Feasibility of deployment of various comms technologies Evaluate the technology solution available with us and

initial development feasibility Select best suitable comms technologies and topologies Economic evaluation and long term benefits evaluation Technology trials for suitability and acceptability

Pilots Decide Pilots Solution providers Pilot size Area for pilot Pilot evaluation parameters – Go , No Go Duration of pilots Team training and implementation

Rollouts Rollouts Conclude pilots Evaluate on Go parameters Develop roll out plan

Case Study- AMI

AMI Rollout in Victoria Big Governmental Push

Victorian Government endorsed deployment of AMI to all Victorian electricity consumers taking supply

of less than 160 MWh per annum in early 2006.

An amendment to the Electricity Industry Act 2000 passed in August 2006, providing the Government

power in establishing a range of requirements for the deployment of AMI

Functionalities and performance levels in Minimum AMI Functionality Specification (Victoria)

Service Levels for distributors and retailers in Minimum AMI Service Levels Specification

(Victoria)

Technology Evaluation The technical capabilities of AMI meters and communication infrastructure established following an

extensive and collaborative development exercise undertaken by Government, utilities and technology

providers in 2006 and 2007

AMI Rollout in Victoria

Communication Technologies

Utilities Metering System vendors

Communication and network system

vendors

Power Line Carrier (PLC) Alinta AE EDMI Trilliant

Distribution Line Carrier (DLC)

CitiPower Elster Intermoco

Mesh Radio (MR) SPAusNet GE Silver Spring Network (SSN)

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)

Origin Energy Itron Aclara

Red Energy L&G Elster

Victoria Electricity PRI-A L&G

Powercor

United Energy Distribution (UED)

Entities and Technologies in Technology Trials

Outcomes of Technology Trials

1. Government mandates rollout of approx 2.5 million AMI meters starting 2009 and to be completed by 2013

2. Government recommends mesh radio technology from SSN as the ideal technology for AMI

3. Government approves metering systems from PRI-A and L&G for AMI

UtilityControl of

otherLoads

MeterDB

Systems

NetworkManagement

System

MDMS Systems

NEMMCOMSATS

RetailersSystems

Connect/Disconnect

System

B2BHub

AMI System

In HomeDisplay

CommunicationsNetwork

Controlled Load

CustomerLoad

Management

HomeArea

Network

IntelligentThermostat

Computer

AMI Rollout in Victoria – System Scheme

Characteristics of AMI Component : In Home Display

• Intent is to involve consumer.

• Interactive: Displays energy, money, Critical price and CO2.

• ICON intensive – meant for mass public

• Self powered• Wiring less: Wire

less

Home Display

• Inter-operable : Using Zigbee.

• ICON intensive – meant for mass public : Expensive graphic display.

• High level of Aesthetic appeal : Choice of colors.

• Self powered/ low running cost : Adapter

• Wiring less: Zigbee @ 100 mW RF power by Nov 2008.

Home Area Network (HAN)

• HAN: Communication between single meter and multiple In-Home devices.

• License free, interference tolerant wireless operation: Zigbee 2.4GHz

• Mesh architecture from Zigbee to combat interference.

• Other load control devices can be controlled using cost/GHG algorithm.

HAN LoadControl

IHD