1. NEW PERSPECTIVES IN AMR TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION FOR CONSUMER LOAD MANAGEMENT M.I.C. STEPHENSON Cambridge University- UK Barcelona 12-15 May 2003 38 CAM_Stephenson_A1 CONTROL & MONITORING, DEVELOPMENT OF COSTS & COMPETITIVENESS 1 M. SCUTARIU Electrica Muntenia Sud- Romania Presenter P.M. STEPHENSON Kingston University- UK

2. 2 AMR- Automatic Meter Reading “Reading a utility meter without the requirement for visual inspection of the meter” Meter Interface Unit Data Collection Unit Data Transmission Examples phone lines /dial-up power line carrier, LAN, Wireless (handheld or WLAN ) Utility Company Computer database Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

3. 3 Technologies for enhanced AMR Short-range radio data communication BLUETOOTH 802.11 Packet-based data communication over mobile telephone networks GPRS ( General Packet Radio Service) Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

4. 4 General Packet Radio Service- GPRS Used for email / web browsing from mobile phones Packet-based data protocol No dial-up time and speed comparable with a modem Charged by-the-byte not by-the-second Can provide a cost-effective, wireless, always-on, two-way data link between electricity company and its meters Card Phone Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

5. 5 GPRS- Key facts Barcelona 12-15 May 2003 PACKET data transfer GPRS module Data transfer rate56kbit/s Typical cost per module€140 Typical data cost per MB€1.50 - €2.50 Typical module dimensions 45x89x11mm

6. 6 GPRS enabled AMR System Utility Company Computer Mobile Phone Provider Internet Barcelona 12-15 May 2003 DATA PACKETS 2 way data transfer

7. 7 Benefits of GPRS-enabled AMR Infrastructure already exists – mobile phone net gives economic, packet based data transfer Data is charged by-the-byte and system is “always ready” to send packets Uses the internet – communicating with many meters simply requires a single broadcast message Intelligent Meters may send back additional information eg Peak load, Power Quality, Outage etc Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

8. 8 GPRS Real-Time Pricing Application 2. Determines the list of customers for tariff change 1.Central computer registers change in price band ------------ ------------- ------------ ----------------------- ------------- ----------------- 3. Via the internet and GPRS connection, it updates all meters to the new tariff or price Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

9. 9 Bluetooth and 802.11 devices - Key Facts Barcelona 12-15 May 2003 Bluetooth802.11 Typical Range~50m200m Data transfer rate1Mbit/s11Mbit/s Typical cost per module €5€50 Typical module dimensions 30x20x5 mm50x50x5 mm

10. 10 Bluetooth /802.11 Short-range radio data technology (50* - 200m) Designed for wireless networking and to eliminate wires between mobile devices 1- 11Mbit/s bandwidth ( 20x-200x faster than a modem) Bluetooth devices identify each other when brought close together* (* Bluetooth range depends on class) Bluetooth Module Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

11. 11 Why use Bluetooth? 1Mbit/sec data rate provides ample bandwidth 2.4GHz band is license-exempt, worldwide Modules are small, inexpensive (~$5 each) & could be retro-fitted to an existing digital meter Non-directional – does not require line of sight Bluetooth devices identify each other uniquely and automatically Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

12. 12 Hardware for wireless enabled AMR Digital Utility Meter Small antenna Low-power Microcontroller Small amount of RAM/ROM Bluetooth/802.11 Transceiver Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

13. 13 Bluetooth devices in piconets communicate with each other Data can be cascaded from one BT meter to another and aggregated at the meter-reading unit. Cost savings–meter reader needs no entry to premises-200 meters read in minutes via hand unit Bluetooth based AMR - Data cascading Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

14. 14 Extension of wireless based AMR system - Data Logging Each digital meter already has a small CPU and memory Adding data-logging capability would be trivial software matter. Load profile data can be stored, and downloaded when the meter is read Half-hourly load data for six months could be downloaded in 20 seconds via Bluetooth. Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

15. 15 CONCLUSIONS 1 - GPRS Packet-based data over mobile telephone networks - flexible and economic Two-way data link for AMR anywhere with mobile phone coverage A rapid and relatively cheap way to communicate in real-time with a large number of utility meters Uses the internet, with possibilities to create a “dedicated or private internet” Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

16. 16 CONCLUSIONS 2 - Bluetooth / 802.11 Short-range radio data communication Devices low cost / flexible but short range Allow Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) without personnel entering premises, giving cost savings and potential for enhanced data recovery Overlapping piconets allow data cascading BT/802.11 devices do not need line of sight Barcelona 12-15 May 2003

17. NEW PERSPECTIVES IN AMR TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION M.I.C. STEPHENSON Cambridge University- UK Barcelona 12-15 May 2003 38 CAM_Stephenson_A1 CONTROL & MONITORING, DEVELOPMENT OF COSTS & COMPETITIVENESS 17 M. SCUTARIU Electrica Muntenia Sud- Romania Presenter PAULE STEPHENSON Kingston University- UK THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION I WILL BE PLEASED TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS