E Metering
E Metering
E Metering
AbsRnef-The proposed e-Metering is a special class of system is the metering and meter reading system, which
distributed data network. The e-metering data possess unique have to improve if revenue collection is to be increased.
characteristics and the network needs innovative technology The e-metering architecture proposed in this study is a
to record, monitor and process the data. The data sue
multifunctional approach to read the energy meters located
processed to collect information of defaulting .cnstomers,
power wage profile of an area and of a consumer, supply at the consumer sites (residential, industrial or
outage time and losses incurred in distribution system. This commercial). The readings are remotely collected and after
system is capable of measuring and estimating the quality of processing used for theft detection. The data are also used
power supplied to the consumers. It consists of data for calculation of transmission and distribution (TBrD)
acquisition, transmission and processing components among losses. It can also be extended for real time monitoring of
the energy meters, local area stations and base stations. The the power distribution network and implementation for
application of the e-metering system is extended to streamline
power distribution with online monitoring of power quality, distribution automtion.
real time theft detection and automatic billing. The faality It is reported that, industrial and commercial consumers
can be extended to connect water and gas meters to this plunder much more power than shanty dwellers, which
system using the meter interface units (MIUS) to develop a account for a fraction of the electricity pilfered [121.
remote unified billing system. Therefore, this system is particularly useful for industrial
and high value consumers where accurate billing and
Index terms--automatic meter reading, remote data
acquisition, power measurement, energy management, timely payment are considered as crucial parameters. A
measurement system data handling, transaction management, network is created consisting of energy meter units (EhKJs)
CAMAC. located at remote places which can remotely communicate
with local nodes and base station known as Area Collection
I. INTRODUCTION Center (ACC). The communication links between may
In recent years, Indian power sector is facing serious comprise of public switched telephone network (PSTN),
problem of lean revenue collection in lieu of energy TV cable link power line camer communication (PLCC),
supplied due to energy thefts and network losses. Out of dedicated fiber optics or a combination of above. The
total energy generated, only 55% is billed and only 41% is selection of communication links is a function of many
realized 1141. All the steps taken so far, regarding the variables like class of data, volume of data and economic
improvement of the power scenario did not yield considerations.
satisfactory results. It is reported that h e most faulty sub
This work was supponed in pa17 by the D e p r t " of Electrical D. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
AND FUNCTIONING
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Jamia Millia We have developed a prototype e-metering network
Islamia, New Delhi-25, INDIA. This work was endorsed by the Dakhshin
H V ~ M Vidyut Viwan Nigam Limited (DHVVNL), Hissar. Haryana. [Fig. 11 that can be integrated to the existing power
India. distribution network in a phased manner. The innovative e-
S. De is doing B.Tech (Elecmical) with the Department of Elecoical metering system is a special category of distributed data
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, lamia M i l k
Islamia, New Delhi-25, INDIA (fax: +91-120-2671184,2612168; e-mail: network based on the layer architecture [Fig. 21. The layer
saptarshi@ ieee.org, emtering@yahm.com). architecture is chosen to reduce the complexity of the
R. Anand is doing B.Tech (Elechical) with the Department of network. The frst layer consists of Energy Meter Unit
Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, lamia
Millia Islamia, New Delhi-25, INDIA (e-mail:rahul_anand@ieee.org).
(EMU) located at the sub-stations, feeders, distribution
A. Naveen is doing B.Tech (Elecoical) with the Department of transformers and consumer premises. A cluster of approx.
Electrical Engineering. Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Jamia 500 nodes (EMUS) is connected to a local node, which is
Millia Islamia, New Delhi-25, INDIA (e-nmil:anaveen@ieee.org). the second layer. A number of such nodes are connected to
S. Moinuddin is doing B.Tech (Elecoical) with the Department of
Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, lamia form a Local Node Center (LNC), which is the next layer.
Millia Islamia, New Delhi-25, INDIA (e-mil:sirat_moin@hotmail.com).
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b) For remote interrogation: Line voltage; line current;
kwh, kVArh or kVAh; kW, LVA, kVAq Average power
factor; and tamper and fraud attempts
B
The choice of the parameters depends on the
requirements of the distribution utility as the meter cost
depends number of parameters chosen.
C. Local Node Center (WVCj
Location: Sub Divisional Centers
The local node center (LNC) shall be a hub of local
nodes, which are individually connected to several EMUs
in the area (up to a maximum of 500 EMUs).
I) Function:
Fig. 1. Architecture of e-Metering system a ) Duplex communication with the EMUs, disconnection
and connection.
Then comes the fourth layer called the Area Collection 6 ) Collect data from the EMUs for onward transmission.
Center (ACC) that is connected to the LNCs under its 2) WVC has following capabilities:
jurisdiction. The topmost layer of the distributed data The system shall be able to retrieve the data from the
network is called the Master Control and Information identified or desired EMU within its area jurisdiction. The
Center (MCIC), which is connected to all the ACCs. The specific interval on which the data is retrieved shall be
communication medium between the LNCs and ACCs; and programmable for every 3 d a y d weekly1 fortnightly1
ACCs and MCIC will preferably be optical fiber. The monthly.
optical fiber network has a high noise immunity; reliability 3) Technicalfeatures of fhe software installed at the
and large bandwidth, which allow transmission of large cenfer:
volume of data. Thus, compression of data while a) Ability to initialize the data collection call, send
transmitting between various layers is not required, commands to a particular meter and ensure that the reply
increasing the cost effectiveness. The connection of the originates from the same meter.
EMUs with the local node can be established using any
b) Validation of the received data.
c ) Simple and user-hiendly protocols.
feasible communication media (viz. telephone lines, TV
dj Periodically synchronizes of all EMUs under its control.
cables, radio or wireless). e ) Ease of network scalabity.
A. System comprises of following layers [ 151 The hardware shall have a toggle (locking device) that
I ) Energy Meter Unit (EMU) shall include a unique identification number. A special
2) Local Node (LNj
,
level of system authorization shall be through a password
3) Local Node Center ( W C ) for the purpose of initialization.
4 ) Area Collection Center (ACC) D. Area Collection Center (ACC)
5) Master Control and Informution Center (MCIC)
Location: Divisional Headquarter
6 ) Communication system from meters to MCIC (via LNC
R APP if nmr,;ro,fl
-.."v.J .*yU.,-I,
The area collection center (ACC) shall be a fully
computerized center consisting of peripherals like
B. Energy Meter Unit (EMU)[1],[ 151 terminals, storage media, communication equipment and
Location: sub-stations, feeders, distribution bansformers interface. It is the heart of the entire system.
and consumer premises 1) ACC hasfollowing capabilities:
I) EMU has following capabilities: a ) Convert the data collected from the LNCs in a format,
a ) It can perform message authentication and encryption. compatible with billing software to generate invoices,
b) Periodic answering of a remote request for meter maintaining a list of defaulting customers.
reading. b) Process the data collected to detect energy theft and
c ) It is able to call back in the event of any intentional other losses.
tamperinglunintentionaldisturbance on its internal andor c ) Supply quality data for transmission to the MCIC,
external performancedconnections. creating a secure database with records of every consumer
d ) A real time clock and calendar mechanism in the meter (can be viewed on secure link through Intemet) and
and able to continue to maintain the clock and calendar preparing energy audits.
during power failure.
E. Masfer Control and Informufion Cenfer (MCIC)
e ) Equipped with requisite facilities to acknowledge receipt
of command. Location: Distribution utility Headquarter
fl Non-volatile memory. The MCIC shall act as supervisory master to the entire
2) Real Time Parameters system for overall management. The MCIC shall be
a ) For local display: kW, kwh, frequency and power factor collecting data from the ACCs under its control for:
a ) Creating a common database for the entire system
b) Monitoring and supervisory control
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c ) Management information monthly). This frequency of reading the EMUs will he
d ) Data analysis decided by the distribution utility as it involves increased
e ) Accounting for overall energy consumptiodrevenue data transmission and data management requirements
fl Tariff revision which add up to the cost.
g ) Adding other value added services The system will create a base energy profile of eiach
EMU for six month or one year. A database of the base
energy profiles of each EMU is maintained and will. be
updated if required. Any deviation of 10.15% between the
metered profile and the base profile will indicate i i possible
case of fault or energy theft.
In case of a significant deviation, the distribution utility
is required to send its vigilance team to the suspected sub
system for verifying reasons for the deviation and take
appropriate actions. A decision can be taken to discontinue
service remotely. Potential lost revenue from consumer
misuse is avoided quickly and the likelihood of corruption
is curtailed significantly. The success of an automatic meter
reading solution relies on utility companies willing to take
the risk of investing in a communications network and a
data management infrastructure.
Fig. 2. The block diagram of the proposed e-metering network E. Anti-tampering andfault detection:
The EMU can be tampered mechanically aridor
electrically. As the EMU used in this system is of
In. SYSTEM FEATURES electronic type the chances of mechanical tampering is
ruled out. The EMU itself can easily detect any event of
A. Flexibility: The system is highly flexible as addition I electrical tampering. The tamper events along with
deletion of any layer is possible as per the requirement of electrical faults are logged into the memory of the EMU
the m a . In addition, the layers can be modified & clubbed [13]. This data is transmitted along with the meter reading.
together, if required. Tampers and faults which will be detected by the EMU
includes: phase potential removed, phase CT reversed, load
B. Compatibility: The system has an open system imbalance, overload, low power factor, power failure,
architecture, which shall ensure compatibility with systems unbalanced voltage, neutral disturbances, invalid voltage
of other manufactures. It will allow the integration with the
inputs, Cover opened, CT shon, CT open, No load, single
meters already present in the network.
phasing. . .
C. Security and reliability: The system must prevent any
unauthorized access. The communication between the V. NETWORKING
various layers will be fully encrypted as per relevant Data The network will be reliable, cost effective and have
Encryption Standards (DES). The system will have efficient data transmission capability. The communication
adequate redundancy and archival capability. shall be bi-directional. The bandwidth requirement is
D. Post payment or Prepayment Depending on the ldkbps to get a decent data transfer rate between the EMUs
payment scheme of the distribution utility the EMUs can be and LNC. But between the LNC and ACC, and ACC: and
of simple AMR type or AMR plus prepayment type. The MCIC the bandwidth requirement goes up and it is
second type of meter can have keypad or magnetic card slot preferred to have a dedicated fiber optics network.
to accept the credit value purchased by the consumer. A. Communication interface [91, [IO]:
1) The remote communication shall he over RS 232 I RS
485 interface.
Iv. THEFTDETECTION ANDTAMPER RESISTANT 2) The communication interface shall have a non-volatile
CAPABILITY memory to store all the meter data to be transferred from
the meter.
A. Thefl Detection: Although repotted total energy losses
in T&D are 24% on an all India average basis, a closer
examination reveals that actual losses including theft and VI. ADVANTAGES
wrong classification could be in the range of 4 0 4 % [14].
A. Reduced meter reading costs: Meter reading costs are
This elegant system would monitor every EMU
reduced as all the meters are read remotely and all the
remotely and capable of capturing the energy consumption billing data is transferred electronically to the billing
reading periodically (every 3daysl weekly1 fortnightly/ database.
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B. Fast resolution of account queries: &'there can be no Crores annually. Hence, there is an urgent need to make a
meter reading transcription errors, customer modest beginning. Even though the installation cost of the
complaints are lower. Online resolution of account system is quite high but owing to its advantages, the system
queries is available to resolve customer complaints. is hound to play an important role in streamlining the
C. Improvement in revenue protection: The system power distribution system and improving power sector
enhances revenue protection by providing tamper flags economy.
and the ability to offer total metering system audits:It
also reports situations of reverse energy, which
indicate that a customer may be using a Black Box in fX. REFERENCES
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all the individual domestic meters. 131 Metering International Issue 4 1997 page 14 excerpt 1
D. Reduced costs for tariff change: The system allows the [4] Metering International Issue 3 1997 page 30 excerpt 1
customer's tariff to be changed online in seconds, thus 151 Metering International Issue 1 1999 page 22 excerpt I
161 Metering international magazine archive 1997 issue 4
eliminating visits by service personnel. This results in [7] Metering intemtional magazine archive 1998 issue
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G Improved customer care facilities: The customer can 1131 lixli resistant meters by Paul Daigle, Roduct Manager at Analog
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A Naveen (StuM'2002) was born in New Delhi,
India, on May 12, 1983. He is doing Bachelor
of Technology (Elemical Engineering) from the
Department of Elemical Engineering, Iamia
Millia Islamia (Central Univenity), India.
His special fields of interest include
elecuonics and data systems.
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