Smart Metering Defined
In today’s global water industry, Smart Metering generally indicates the presence of one or more
of the following
Interval meters on customer premises that measure consumption during specific time periods
and communicate it to the utility, often on a daily basis. While in the electric industry,
measurement intervals can be as short as every 10 or 15 minutes, water intervals of 30 to 60
minutes or longer generally provide adequate information.
A communications channel that permits the utility, at a minimum, to obtain meter reads on
demand, to ascertain whether water has recently been flowing through the meter and onto the
premises, and to issue commands to the meter to perform specific tasks such as disconnecting
or restricting water flow.
Smart Metering may also include:
At the customer site: an easy to read display. It helps customers check for leaks, reduce
consumption, and monitor compliance with local restrictions.
At the utility: additional data collection and processing software, such as a meter data
management application. This isolates the existing billing system from the increasing meter
data volumes that smart metering introduces.
IT Infrastructure to Look For:
• A meter data management application that can validate, format, and store a high volume of meter reads and provide billing determinants to a customer information system.
• A gateway through which various applications can send orders to a meter. For instance, a customer service
representative needs a path through which to order and receive a customer’s final meter reading during the few short moments that the customer is on the telephone.
Smart Metering vs. AMR
Smart Metering provides more detailed information than does the older, related Automatic Meter
Reading (AMR) system. In AMR, meters communicate their monthly or daily consumption totals
to a central collector using one of a number of different communications techniques, such as
radio signals, power-line communications, or satellite reads. In other words, they are designed to
replace house-to-house meter readers with centralized collection.
Smart Metering, in contrast, uses more robust communications channels controlled from a
central point and readily available on demand. It accommodates interval data collection—not
merely simple totals— and facilitates delivery of a wide variety of services, such as remote
disconnects and checks to ensure that service is currently available.
That said, water utilities are increasingly looking to AMR to provide a first step towards Smart
Metering. By reading AMR meters once or twice daily, they can use the reads as 12 or 24 hour
“intervals.” These measurements can be effective in some conservation programs, such as leak
detection and providing information to customers.
Why Use Smart Metering?
Information to the Customer
In-Home Displays
Display devices that show water use in real time help customers detect leaks. While diligent
customers may, a few times a year, turn off all water and check an outside meter to ensure there
is no flow, most meters are deliberately located in out-of-the-way areas that make it hard to
detect new, small leaks. A conveniently located on-premises monitor can help a customer notice
a leak because, for instance, the reading is higher in the morning than it was at night even though
in theory no water was used in the day.
Displays located prominently serve as a constant reminder about the need for water
conservation. They can help parents build games for children around the readings aimed at
teaching water-conservation habits. They also enable jurisdictions to win customer compliance
with water-use advisories or restrictions, such as a weekly maximum use per occupant.
Preliminary investigation indicates that customers with displays are more likely to use less water.
Displays tailored to the specific needs of the user, such as those comparing current water use
with neighborhood averages or with consumption in previous months, may help consumers
further focus on conservation.
IT Infrastructure to Look For:
• A meter data management and/or customer information system that can process data rapidly so as to provide timely data to customers.
• A customer information or portal system that can format data into charts and tables that customers can readily understand.
Computer Portals
Installing monitors at each customer site may come with price tag water utilities find difficult to
afford. As a result, many elect less expensive ways to provide consumption details, such as
computer websites with individualized portals or even printouts enclosed with bills. Surveys
appear to indicate that customers prefer the on-site display, which provides rapid and easily
accessible data. Web portals, however, have an added advantage: they readily link concerned
customers to information on how to lower consumption and/or bills.
Effectiveness
Because Smart Metering is a relatively new phenomenon, information about the long-term
effects of providing detailed consumption to water customers is not yet available. Preliminary
information is available, however, for electricity.
Two electricity consumer surveys, for instance, indicate a strong consumer preference to
receive more detailed consumption information from their electric utility.
The results of “The Effectiveness of Feedback On Energy Consumption,” a study performed
by the Environmental Change Group at the University of Oxford, indicates that electricity
consumers receiving direct feedback from smart meters reduced consumption by 5 percent to
15 percent, while those receiving indirect feedback reduced consumption up to 10 percent.
A real-time feedback pilot at Hydro One in Ontario Canada achieved an average aggregate
electricity reduction of 6.5 percent.
Information to the Utility
Utilities can use time-of-use or interval data to:
Detect customer-premises leaks.
Leak detection for households is relatively simple. Leaks or faulty plumbing are the most likely
culprits if hourly usage never drops to zero. Utilities can use more sophisticated algorithms,
generally available from software vendors, to identify possible leaks at commercial and
industrial properties with round-the-clock water use.
Preliminary experience indicates that substantial numbers of customers will sign up for
voluntary leak notification if utilities offer it and will provide telephone numbers or email
addresses where utilities can send automatic alerts. In communities with serious or growing
water issues, mandatory notification may become the norm. In many cases, it appears,
customers may already know about, for instance, a dripping faucet, but notification from the
utility pointing out the cost and long-term community implications can encourage repair.
Utility notifications are even more welcome and effective when customers are unaware of leaks
in walls and foundations that, left unrepaired, have the potential to damage structures
significantly.
As water issues escalate, some jurisdictions are considering fines or penalties for customers
who fail to fix leaks.
In regions with competitive or partially competitive utility markets, utilities can use this leak
detection ability to offer leak insurance to property owners.
Detect small leaks in mains.
A utility that compares a day’s consumption for a group of customers (such as residences on a
block) with readings from a water main serving that block may be able to identify small leaks
(or possibly theft) before they become too large to be overlooked.
Identify the location and extent of a water main break.
Smart meters can activate the communication link to the utility and send “last gasp” messages
when they detect a significant drop in pressure.
Monitor compliance with local water restrictions.
Water utilities and sister municipal agencies in drought-plagued areas may be under heavy
pressure to identify possible violations of local restrictions on, for instance, outdoor watering
or non-essential water use during daylight hours. Analyses of smart metering data can help
them fulfill such public mandates.
The utility’s ability to detect leaks is, in some regions, becoming a major financial factor for
utilities. Regulators concerned about reducing water waste may establish performance-based
incentives for utilities to reduce water loss. The faster utilities can detect, size, and prioritize
repairs for leaks, the greater their ability will be to earn these incentives.
IT Infrastructure to Look For:
• Integration that links leak detection with a mobile workforce management system so as to automatically dispatch field crews to the sites of suspected major leaks.
• A customer information system that can compare current meter readings with past and anticipated readings so as to readily identify consumption patterns that may result from leaks.
• A customer information system that, once provided with local use regulations, can be programmed to detect and report likely violations.
• Automatic customer contact systems (email, SMS, telephone) that alert customers to problems.
Better Services Without Incremental Costs
The costs to implement Smart Metering systems are significant. Once implemented, however,
utilities can use them to:
Obtain off-cycle, “final” meter reads for customers moving or leaving the area. It is common
to couple these real-time final meter reads with on-line or credit-card bill payment that enable
utilities to collect immediately on bills that might otherwise take weeks or months to reach a
relocated customer.
Remotely disconnect or restrict the flow of meters in regions where this is permitted.5Remote-disconnect meters reduce the costs to send field crews to the premises of customers
who have either requested a disconnect or who are being disconnected (or ratcheted back) for
bill nonpayment.
Check meter status (“ping the meter”) prior to sending a repair crew in response to a customer
call. These checks can sometimes prevent needless field crew dispatch to customer sites where
problems are not the utility’s responsibility.
Remotely detect theft.
Ensure that almost all bills are based on actual meter reads rather than on estimates; this
reduces calls to the contact center and improves customer satisfaction.
Help control electricity costs for utilities that pump water to a high point during off-peak
hours, then use gravity feeds when electricity prices are higher. Utilities that want to avoid
turning on the pumps during high-price periods can develop water rates that track electricity
rates and thus excess on-peak water consumption. These rates may become increasingly
popular as electric utilities institute exceptionally high “critical peak” prices.
Offer prepayment options to customers without the expense of special prepayment meters.
Provide feedback to utility staff on the effectiveness of various conservation programs and
enable them to make rapid changes.
IT Infrastructure to Look For:
• Customer information systems that accept a variety of different bill-paying methods, process final bills (including prorationing) rapidly, and provide robust support for customer service representatives.
• Customer information systems that can support prepayment arrangements without the need for prepayment meters.
• Customer information or customer relationship management systems that analyze conservation program effectiveness and report results in ways helpful to customers, utilities, and communities.
• Meter data management systems or gateways that link to mobile workforce management systems in order to dispatch crews automatically to the sites of non-working meters.
• Integration between mobile workforce management and asset management applications to ensure the prompt ordering of replacements for non-working meters and automatic applications for refunds for failed equipment still under warranty.
• Project management software that helps minimize the costs to install Smart Meters.
In today’s global water industry, Smart Metering generally indicates the presence of one or more
of the following
Interval meters on customer premises that measure consumption during specific time periods
and communicate it to the utility, often on a daily basis. While in the electric industry,
measurement intervals can be as short as every 10 or 15 minutes, water intervals of 30 to 60
minutes or longer generally provide adequate information.
A communications channel that permits the utility, at a minimum, to obtain meter reads on
demand, to ascertain whether water has recently been flowing through the meter and onto the
premises, and to issue commands to the meter to perform specific tasks such as disconnecting
or restricting water flow.
Smart Metering may also include:
At the customer site: an easy to read display. It helps customers check for leaks, reduce
consumption, and monitor compliance with local restrictions.
At the utility: additional data collection and processing software, such as a meter data
management application. This isolates the existing billing system from the increasing meter
data volumes that smart metering introduces.
IT Infrastructure to Look For:
• A meter data management application that can validate, format, and store a high volume of meter reads and provide billing determinants to a customer information system.
• A gateway through which various applications can send orders to a meter. For instance, a customer service
representative needs a path through which to order and receive a customer’s final meter reading during the few short moments that the customer is on the telephone.
Smart Metering vs. AMR
Smart Metering provides more detailed information than does the older, related Automatic Meter
Reading (AMR) system. In AMR, meters communicate their monthly or daily consumption totals
to a central collector using one of a number of different communications techniques, such as
radio signals, power-line communications, or satellite reads. In other words, they are designed to
replace house-to-house meter readers with centralized collection.
Smart Metering, in contrast, uses more robust communications channels controlled from a
central point and readily available on demand. It accommodates interval data collection—not
merely simple totals— and facilitates delivery of a wide variety of services, such as remote
disconnects and checks to ensure that service is currently available.
That said, water utilities are increasingly looking to AMR to provide a first step towards Smart
Metering. By reading AMR meters once or twice daily, they can use the reads as 12 or 24 hour
“intervals.” These measurements can be effective in some conservation programs, such as leak
detection and providing information to customers.
Why Use Smart Metering?
Information to the Customer
In-Home Displays
Display devices that show water use in real time help customers detect leaks. While diligent
customers may, a few times a year, turn off all water and check an outside meter to ensure there
is no flow, most meters are deliberately located in out-of-the-way areas that make it hard to
detect new, small leaks. A conveniently located on-premises monitor can help a customer notice
a leak because, for instance, the reading is higher in the morning than it was at night even though
in theory no water was used in the day.
Displays located prominently serve as a constant reminder about the need for water
conservation. They can help parents build games for children around the readings aimed at
teaching water-conservation habits. They also enable jurisdictions to win customer compliance
with water-use advisories or restrictions, such as a weekly maximum use per occupant.
Preliminary investigation indicates that customers with displays are more likely to use less water.
Displays tailored to the specific needs of the user, such as those comparing current water use
with neighborhood averages or with consumption in previous months, may help consumers
further focus on conservation.
IT Infrastructure to Look For:
• A meter data management and/or customer information system that can process data rapidly so as to provide timely data to customers.
• A customer information or portal system that can format data into charts and tables that customers can readily understand.
Computer Portals
Installing monitors at each customer site may come with price tag water utilities find difficult to
afford. As a result, many elect less expensive ways to provide consumption details, such as
computer websites with individualized portals or even printouts enclosed with bills. Surveys
appear to indicate that customers prefer the on-site display, which provides rapid and easily
accessible data. Web portals, however, have an added advantage: they readily link concerned
customers to information on how to lower consumption and/or bills.
Effectiveness
Because Smart Metering is a relatively new phenomenon, information about the long-term
effects of providing detailed consumption to water customers is not yet available. Preliminary
information is available, however, for electricity.
Two electricity consumer surveys, for instance, indicate a strong consumer preference to
receive more detailed consumption information from their electric utility.
The results of “The Effectiveness of Feedback On Energy Consumption,” a study performed
by the Environmental Change Group at the University of Oxford, indicates that electricity
consumers receiving direct feedback from smart meters reduced consumption by 5 percent to
15 percent, while those receiving indirect feedback reduced consumption up to 10 percent.
A real-time feedback pilot at Hydro One in Ontario Canada achieved an average aggregate
electricity reduction of 6.5 percent.
Information to the Utility
Utilities can use time-of-use or interval data to:
Detect customer-premises leaks.
Leak detection for households is relatively simple. Leaks or faulty plumbing are the most likely
culprits if hourly usage never drops to zero. Utilities can use more sophisticated algorithms,
generally available from software vendors, to identify possible leaks at commercial and
industrial properties with round-the-clock water use.
Preliminary experience indicates that substantial numbers of customers will sign up for
voluntary leak notification if utilities offer it and will provide telephone numbers or email
addresses where utilities can send automatic alerts. In communities with serious or growing
water issues, mandatory notification may become the norm. In many cases, it appears,
customers may already know about, for instance, a dripping faucet, but notification from the
utility pointing out the cost and long-term community implications can encourage repair.
Utility notifications are even more welcome and effective when customers are unaware of leaks
in walls and foundations that, left unrepaired, have the potential to damage structures
significantly.
As water issues escalate, some jurisdictions are considering fines or penalties for customers
who fail to fix leaks.
In regions with competitive or partially competitive utility markets, utilities can use this leak
detection ability to offer leak insurance to property owners.
Detect small leaks in mains.
A utility that compares a day’s consumption for a group of customers (such as residences on a
block) with readings from a water main serving that block may be able to identify small leaks
(or possibly theft) before they become too large to be overlooked.
Identify the location and extent of a water main break.
Smart meters can activate the communication link to the utility and send “last gasp” messages
when they detect a significant drop in pressure.
Monitor compliance with local water restrictions.
Water utilities and sister municipal agencies in drought-plagued areas may be under heavy
pressure to identify possible violations of local restrictions on, for instance, outdoor watering
or non-essential water use during daylight hours. Analyses of smart metering data can help
them fulfill such public mandates.
The utility’s ability to detect leaks is, in some regions, becoming a major financial factor for
utilities. Regulators concerned about reducing water waste may establish performance-based
incentives for utilities to reduce water loss. The faster utilities can detect, size, and prioritize
repairs for leaks, the greater their ability will be to earn these incentives.
IT Infrastructure to Look For:
• Integration that links leak detection with a mobile workforce management system so as to automatically dispatch field crews to the sites of suspected major leaks.
• A customer information system that can compare current meter readings with past and anticipated readings so as to readily identify consumption patterns that may result from leaks.
• A customer information system that, once provided with local use regulations, can be programmed to detect and report likely violations.
• Automatic customer contact systems (email, SMS, telephone) that alert customers to problems.
Better Services Without Incremental Costs
The costs to implement Smart Metering systems are significant. Once implemented, however,
utilities can use them to:
Obtain off-cycle, “final” meter reads for customers moving or leaving the area. It is common
to couple these real-time final meter reads with on-line or credit-card bill payment that enable
utilities to collect immediately on bills that might otherwise take weeks or months to reach a
relocated customer.
Remotely disconnect or restrict the flow of meters in regions where this is permitted.5Remote-disconnect meters reduce the costs to send field crews to the premises of customers
who have either requested a disconnect or who are being disconnected (or ratcheted back) for
bill nonpayment.
Check meter status (“ping the meter”) prior to sending a repair crew in response to a customer
call. These checks can sometimes prevent needless field crew dispatch to customer sites where
problems are not the utility’s responsibility.
Remotely detect theft.
Ensure that almost all bills are based on actual meter reads rather than on estimates; this
reduces calls to the contact center and improves customer satisfaction.
Help control electricity costs for utilities that pump water to a high point during off-peak
hours, then use gravity feeds when electricity prices are higher. Utilities that want to avoid
turning on the pumps during high-price periods can develop water rates that track electricity
rates and thus excess on-peak water consumption. These rates may become increasingly
popular as electric utilities institute exceptionally high “critical peak” prices.
Offer prepayment options to customers without the expense of special prepayment meters.
Provide feedback to utility staff on the effectiveness of various conservation programs and
enable them to make rapid changes.
IT Infrastructure to Look For:
• Customer information systems that accept a variety of different bill-paying methods, process final bills (including prorationing) rapidly, and provide robust support for customer service representatives.
• Customer information systems that can support prepayment arrangements without the need for prepayment meters.
• Customer information or customer relationship management systems that analyze conservation program effectiveness and report results in ways helpful to customers, utilities, and communities.
• Meter data management systems or gateways that link to mobile workforce management systems in order to dispatch crews automatically to the sites of non-working meters.
• Integration between mobile workforce management and asset management applications to ensure the prompt ordering of replacements for non-working meters and automatic applications for refunds for failed equipment still under warranty.
• Project management software that helps minimize the costs to install Smart Meters.
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