Smart Metering

The SMART CAMPUS project (CIP-ICT-PSP Grant Agreement no. 297251, co-funded by the European Commission, started in August 2011 and will last until January 2015), focuses on the development of energy saving services that integrate sensor input such as energy consumption, environmental variables and user feedback into Intelligent Energy Management Systems for creating a Bi-directional Learning Process between public buildings and building users.
The project has two goals through which energy savings will be achieved. On one hand, the goal is to create Intelligent Energy Management Systems (IEMS) in which energy consumption data regarding the buildings will be collected, analysed and aggregated using artificial intelligence methodologies to recognize and classify activity patterns of the users and correlate them with energy consumption patterns and exogenous conditions as a way to optimize energy usage while maintaining or increasing comfort levels to building users.
On the other hand, the goal is that the building users will be subject to Real Time Information on energy consumption and Decision Guidance to help them use energy efficiently, resulting in User Behaviour Transformation towards more energy-efficient behaviours.
The project is led by the Portuguese SME Alfamicro and piloted in four European University campuses (in Helsinki, Lisbon, Luleå and Milan) facing different climates and energy saving challenges. The building users in each pilot will be engaged to participate in the SMART CAMPUS project according to the Living Lab methodology leading to an involvement on the Co-design process of energy saving solutions and services with the users, making use of service design tools.

Non-technical losses (NTL) in a Distribution network are primarily related to deficiencies in the energy metering system, vigilant investigation and monitoring of the distribution network, specifically the metering infrastructure. The expenditure on non-technical loss reduction ventures is much less compared to technical loss reduction projects. The Western Province South 1 of Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), which is engaged in electricity distribution, deployed a series of energy management initiatives from 2013 onwards in order to tackle NTL. Some of the initiatives were conversion of three phase electro-mechanical meters to poly phase programmable meters, introduction of substation metering, distribution substation wise meter testing, meter point rehabilitation, energy auditing for loss pinpointing and implementation of a proper seal management system. Along with these activities continuous pre-implementation and post-implementation performance of the metering system was analysed. Some of the parameters examined were the revenue increase owing to refurbishment of metering points, performance of electromechanical meters in the LV network with age analysis and provincial energy loss. By replacing the available electro-mechanical three phase meters to digital three phase meters, of customers having average consumption above 5000 kWh, the recorded number of electricity units and revenue alike increased by 4.5%. Further the results indicated that the percentage number of faulty energy meters available in a distribution substation varied around 10%-15%. The average reduction of energy loss percentage, associated with energy supplied by a distribution substation was 1%. The study showed continuous monitoring of distribution substation-wise energy losses can be used to identify abnormal behaviours of distribution substations and to pinpoint loss prone LV network segments. Further it was identified that apart from energy loss reduction and cost saving, the process increased the meter end reliability by reducing meter end break downs. Apart from establishing a skilled workforce to sustain these processes, the implementation of Smart metering schemes along with automated metering infrastructure and implementation of comprehensive Customer Information Systems were identified as future prospects vital in this perspective.

The nature of electricity differs from that of other commodities since electricity is a non-storable good and there have been significant seasonal and diurnal variations of demand. Under such condition, precise forecasting of demand for electricity should be an integral part of the planning process as this enables the policy makers to provide directions on cost-effective investment and on scheduling the operation of the existing and new power plants so that the supply of electricity can be made adequate enough to meet the future demand and its variations. Official load forecasting in India done by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is often criticized for being overestimated due to inferior techniques used for forecasting. This paper tries to evaluate monthly peak demand forecasting performance predicted by CEA using trend method and compare it with those predicted by Multiplicative Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (MSARIMA) model. It has been found that MSARIMA model outperforms CEA forecasts both in-sample static and out-of-sample dynamic forecast horizons in all five regional grids in India. For better load management and grid discipline, this study suggests employing sophisticated techniques like MSARIMA for peak load forecasting in India.

Following requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, most U.S. states require utility companies to adopt interconnection and net metering policies, allowing customers to become prosumers who both consume and produce electricity, generating electricity using distributed renewable energy technologies, connecting to the existing electric utility grid, and receiving compensation for excess electricity generation. This paper reviews existing interconnection and net metering policies instituted by investor owned utilities (IOUs) across the U.S., specifically focused on policies regulating small scale, residential or Tier 1 (a term used to indicate policies applicable to smaller scale rather than larger scale, although the size at which DG systems are classified as either Tier 1 or higher tiers varies by utility) installations. Publicly available data from each IOU reveal inconsistencies in interconnection and net metering policies, within states and even within individual companies. In addition, accurate information is often unavailable to consumers. Perhaps most importantly, results suggest that compensation for excess distributed generation is often obscured in utility policy. The results of this study provide important insight into interconnection and net metering policies for distributed renewable energy generation, as states and utilities continue to modify interconnection and net metering policies in response to increased adoption of distributed renewable energy systems.

Buildings are responsible for 40% of global energy use and contribute towards 30% of the total CO2 emissions. The drive to reduce energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions from buildings has acted as a catalyst in the increasing installation of meters and sensors for monitoring energy use and indoor environmental conditions in buildings. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in building energy metering and environmental monitoring, including their social, economic, environmental and legislative drivers. The integration of meters and sensors with existing building energy management systems (BEMS) is critically appraised, especially with regard to communication technologies and protocols such as ModBus, M-Bus, Ethernet, Cellular, ZigBee, WiFi and BACnet. Findings suggest that energy metering is covered in existing policies and regulations in only a handful of countries. Most of the legislations and policies on energy metering in Europe are in response to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), 2002/91/EC. However, recent developments in policy are pointing towards more stringent metering requirements in future, moving away from voluntary to mandatory compliance. With regards to metering equipment, significant developments have been made in the recent past on miniaturisation, accuracy, robustness, data storage, ability to connect using multiple communication protocols, and the integration with BEMS and the Cloud – resulting in a range of available solutions, selection of which can be challenging. Developments in communication technologies, in particular in low-power wireless such as ZigBee and Bluetooth LE (BLE), are enabling cost-effective machine to machine (M2M) and internet of things (IoT) implementation of sensor networks. Privacy and data protection, however, remain a concern for data aggregators and end-users. The standardization of network protocols and device functionalities remains an active area of research and development, especially due to the prevalence of many protocols in the BEMS industry. Available solutions often lack interoperability between hardware and software systems, resulting in vendor lock-in. The paper provides a comprehensive understanding of available technologies for energy metering and environmental monitoring; their drivers, advantages and limitations; factors affecting their selection and future directions of research and development – for use a reference, as well as for generating further interest in this expanding research area.

The evolution of the power systems towards the smart grid paradigm is strictly dependent on the modernization of distribution grids. To achieve this target, new infrastructures, technologies and applications are increasingly required. This paper presents a smart metering infrastructure that unlocks a large set of possible services aimed at the automation and management of distribution grids. The proposed architecture is based on a cloud solution, which allows the communication with the smart meters from one side and provides the needed interfaces to the distribution grid services on the other one. While a large number of applications can be designed on top of the cloud, in this paper the focus will be on a real-time distributed state estimation algorithm that enables the automatic reconfiguration of the grid. The paper will present the key role of the cloud solution for obtaining scalability, interoperability and flexibility, and for enabling the integration of different services for the automation of the distribution system. The distributed state estimation algorithm and the automatic network reconfiguration will be presented as an example of coordinated operation of different distribution grid services through the cloud.

Electricity tariff setting is a primary instrument of economic regulation. Tariff provides economic signals, which determine the volume and nature of the demand and supply of power. It is not surprising therefore that a considerable portion of the power sector reform effort is expended on rationalizing tariffs. Through this paper we aim to discuss the potential for alternative ways of charging for electricity and providing concessions to improve the affordability of essential electricity use, facilitate the equitable, efficient and full recovery of the cost of supplying electricity and provide clear information to consumers regarding the impact of their electricity use. Many of the existing tariff elements have been formulated over the years as a result of available technology. In reviewing the electricity tariff structures it is therefore important to consider some of the developments in technology particularly with respect to metering which may facilitate a greater variety in tariff structures now or in the future

The SAVE ENERGY Project (CIP – ICT PSP – 2008-2, nº. 238882) has addressed the challenge of stimulating and measuring energy user behaviour transformation facilitated by ICT solutions to achieve an increase in energy efficiency. A network of five public building pilots located in Helsinki, Leiden, Lisbon, Luleå and Manchester installed data collection systems and real-time energy displays to support behaviour change and determine best practice. The user-driven Living Lab methodology was implemented to achieve faster and more effective results. A generic process is presented which can be used as the basis of future energy behaviour transformation programmes.

Modernisation of the grid is inevitable as aging and outdated traditional power infrastructure is subject to challenges of cost, climate change, distributed power generation, and unstable demand patterns. Engineers identified smart meters as a vital element for modernisation and hastily implemented
and deployed them without fully considering their implications. There has been
significant consumer concern, and rollouts in various countries have been
delayed and even stopped entirely. The resistance from consumers makes it evident that their requirements were inadequately addressed. A major reason for this is that the requirements elicitation process was seriously deficient. This
article first analyses the functionalities of a smart metering system from a
consumer perspective and discusses the risks to consumer assets that are perceived
to, and in some cases do, arise from the introduction of smart meters. It
then proposes that proponents of smart meter schemes need to improve their risk assessment and requirements elicitation processes, in order to better understand user realities, needs and concerns and ensure that their designs address them
effectively.

The smart distribution grids will have to supply the electricity according to power quality standards. Various measurement instruments, currently considered as cornerstones of smart grids (smart meters, protection relays, fault recorders etc.), do not measure all the power quality parameters specified in these standards. Some distribution system operators are already installing Power Quality Monitoring Systems (PQMS), based on fixed power quality monitors. The aim of this paper is to present the possibility of integrating power quality data from PQMS system, AMR/AMI (Automatic Meter Reading/Advanced Metering Infrastructure) system and all the other systems in the distribution network, into an Integrated Power Quality
Monitoring System (IPQMS). The results of pilot projects conducted in the Public Electric Utility Elektroprivreda of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to test the three power quality monitoring systems, are also presented. The possibility of using data from smart meters in power quality monitoring was analysed.