Technologies: Advanced Metering Infrastructure - AMI

If your organization is considering wireless technologies for reading customer meters, Utility Telecom can provide answers to questions such as what frequencies to use, what modulation methods are best and what geographic areas will have adequate signal strength and which areas won’t.

Energy Policy Act of 2005 (PURPA)

The energy policy act of 2005 is largely about state utility commissions and the development by utilities of an advanced metering infrastructure. The purpose of this new metering infrastructure is to provide, on customer request, information such as time of use pricing, critical peak pricing, and real time pricing. The main objective is to help in the avoidance of additional generation, transmission and distribution construction costs by the utility for the purpose of meeting peak demand. The method of accomplishing this is commonly known as “load shifting” the customer from periods of high demand to periods of lower demand and therefore, lower prices.

End Device Communications

Of the many systems currently being offered, the majority involve some type of communications with end metering devices. The metering data is typically collected (aggregated) at some centralized point and then back hauled to the utility’s main management and operations facility. UTCG can assist in determining the appropriate locations for any centralized hub sites. For radio based systems, this is accomplished by developing maps showing which remote meter sites will have adequate signal strengths relative to the proposed hub radio locations and which sites won’t. Remote meters can include electric meters, gas meters and water meters.

Metering Data Backhaul

From the centralized hub radio locations, meter data flows back to the utility’s main management and operations facility using any one or combination of transport methods. These methods can take numerous forms such as Broadband over Power Line (BPL), digital microwave, fiber optics, satellite, and wireless technologies, to name a few. UTCG can assist in determining which transport method or combination of methods will be most secure and appropriate for your needs.

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