Loosening regulations to facilitate AMR deployment
Metering regulations are more restrictive in Canada than in the United States. Like other utilities, Hydro-Québec must meet the criteria defined by Measurement Canada, a federal agency whose mission includes approving new meters, periodically inspecting installed meters and accrediting private sector organizations to provide meter inspection and certification services on its behalf.
Under existing regulations, all meters must be approved by Measurement Canada before being put to commercial use, which limits the number of technologies and suppliers to choose from. The Measurement Canada seal guarantees that a unit meets applicable standards. To ensure full compliance with the agency’s requirements and live up to its customers' expectations in this area, Hydro-Québec established a quality assurance policy in 1994 and revised it in 1997. Its quality system, rated one of the best among Canadian utilities, covers all aspects of meter quality assurance, from acquisition to installation on the customer’s premises. The company also developed its own meter certification process, based on Canadian and international standards as well as specific climatic requirements. These initiatives are all designed to ensure the quality and reliability of metering equipment—a need that has become all the more pressing with the proliferation of new electronic meters in the marketplace.
To monitor the performance of installed mechanical and electromechanical meters, Hydro-Québec set up periodic inspection programs aimed at complementing existing calibration and inspection procedures. It is thus able to identify units that no longer operate properly and replace them as needed. When it comes to more advanced technologies, however, things are not quite so simple. For starters, instead of calling for the sample testing of meters as in the case of electromechanical devices, Measurement Canada regulations currently require that electronic meters be replaced systematically for calibration every six years. This represents prohibitive recurring costs for distributors, particularly in the residential sector.
To address this issue, the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) has formed working groups with representation from consumer advocacy organizations, meter suppliers and utilities, including Hydro-Québec. Their task is to develop and recommend solutions more in line with international standards, that would provide an alternative to the massive replacement of meters over short periods of time and thus reduce costs. Measurement Canada’s initial response has been fairly positive, and its final decision is highly anticipated given the huge impact it will have on the modernization of Canada’s installed meter base.
Furthermore, under provincial regulations, any improvement of existing facilities that entails significant additional costs must be submitted to the Régie de l’énergie (energy board) for approval.
The evolution of metering at Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec’s meter base includes some 3.5 million devices, a third of which have been in operation for 25 years.
In the late 1980s, Hydro-Québec began installing remote-reading meters in all its major industrial customers’ facilities for load research purposes. These customers were thus the first to benefit from the numerous advantages of AMR, namely greater reliability, higher accuracy and a better understanding of their consumption profile, which made it easier to manage their consumption and power demand.
In the mid 1990s, the company began experimenting with two promising technologies geared to a broader customer base as a means of dealing with accessibility and safety issues and improving efficiency. To date, it has installed Nertec phone home technology, which makes use of shared telephone lines, in 50,000 customer sites and equipped another 100,000 homes with AMRT RF meters that can be read by means of handheld devices.
The late 1990s were marked by the emergence of competition in the wholesale energy market. Hydro-Québec responded by opening its transmission system to third parties and creating a separate division, Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie, to act as Transmission Provider. In return, it was
granted power marketer status by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), allowing it to conduct transactions directly in the U.S. under regular market conditions. Then, in 2001, the company further unbundled its activities by creating three additional divisions: a Generator, a Distributor and a Builder.
In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, Hydro-Québec regards the deployment of advanced metering technologies as an opportunity to better meet customers’ expectations. Specifically, these allow distributors to
AMR also represents an ideal solution for managing energy transactions between Hydro-Québec’s divisions, suppliers and wholesale customers.
From meter replacement to data management
In 1999, Hydro-Québec initiated a major program aimed at modernizing the metering equipment of its commercial, industrial and institutional customers. To this end, it implemented a state-of-the-art server platform designed to optimize meter reading and related data processing functions. The company opted for the Itron MV-90 multi-vendor data collection and analysis system, to which all remote-reading meters are connected. Users will soon be able to access metering data via the MV-STAR data management system and the MV-WEB Internet-based data display system, which make use of stringent security profiles to ensure data integrity and reliability. Once uploaded, consumption data are archived for billing and management purposes, based on predefined criteria. Hydro-Québec’s processing centre currently manages data generated by over 10,000 business customers (including neighboring systems and private producers), which represents nearly 960,000 readings per day. By 2006, these figures are expected to reach 66,000 customers and 2.5 million readings per day. The collected data constitutes strategic information, both for Hydro-Québec and its customers.
Key benefits which are expected from the progressive deployment of this technology include:
Extending AMR to the entire customer base
As mentioned earlier, Hydro-Québec’s 300 major customers were the first to benefit from AMR and related services because of the complexity of their load management requirements. By 2003, all first-generation AMR devices will have been replaced by state-of-the-art meters connected via dedicated telephone lines. The main technologies adopted for this clientele are the Schlumberger Quantum® Q1000 Electronic Multimeasurement Meter and the ABB ION®
8500 Power Quality/Revenue Meter.
As part of the modernization program launched in 1999, Hydro-Québec also plans to gradually extend AMR to a larger number of commercial, institutional and industrial (CII) customers and, to a lesser degree, residential customers. By 2004, it hopes to install General Electric kV® or ABB Alpha® meters in the facilities of 22,000 customers with annual electricity bills in excess of $500,000. Power and consumption data will be recorded every 15 minutes and uploaded to the company’s processing centre each night via dedicated telephone lines.
Some 40,000 other business customers with a power demand greater than 50 kW, whose meters must be read on a monthly basis under existing regulations, will be issued similar units, as will new and hard-to-reach customers. To keep costs down, communication links other than dedicated lines are being looked into for this customer segment, and facility upgrades will be done as part of regular operations.
On the residential side, Hydro-Québec continues to bank on AMR to make efficiency gains and solve accessibility and safety issues. In addition to the 150,000 homes already served by Nertec phone home technology or AMRT RF meters, other residential sites will be upgraded over the next two years as part of a pilot project aimed at testing new RF technologies, such as fixed and drive-by systems. The results of these projects will help shape the company’s future meter upgrade strategies.
Campaigns designed to encourage customers to submit their own readings by mail, by phone or online are also being considered, along with improvements to existing consumption estimation methods.
A technology with multiple benefits
Hydro-Québec intends to make the most of the possibilities offered by AMR in terms of new products and services, metering capabilities and distribution system management.
More services to choose from
With AMR, Hydro-Québec can monitor its customers' consumption profiles more closely and adapt its service portfolio accordingly. Here are a few of the services it has already introduced:
All these services translate into greater flexibility and added value for the customer.
Greater reliability and accuracy
The number of erroneous readings has dropped significantly due to the high accuracy of electronic meters and the inherent reliability of AMR compared with manual readings. Moreover, the remote reading of hard-to-reach sites has led to a decrease in consumption estimates. This in turn has resulted in greater billing accuracy as well as fewer complaints and billing adjustments. In addition, the fact that readings can be taken more frequently opens up new possibilities, such as real-time billing.
Optimized distribution system management
AMR also provides for better system management. For example, remote-reading meters can be programmed to detect outages as soon as they occur. Service can thus be restored more quickly and efficiently, leading to a reduction in the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI). To this end, Hydro-Québec plans to install remote-reading meters in key substations and has already implemented a program to modernize the metering equipment in its interconnection
facilities. Remote reading will also facilitate peak load management and help the company avoid power disturbances on its system.
In short, AMR paves the way for an optimization of the power supply, new consumption management capabilities and rate options, realtime billing and enhanced fraud detection. However, it is only by developing know-how and promoting innovation in this area that utilities will be able to tap its full potential.
Previous technology
First-generation AMR equipment serving major customers. Active and reactive power were recorded separately by mechanical meters, then added on location by means of an electronic summator programmed specifically for the site. The load profile was recorded by the register. Mechanical output relays transmitted data to the customer.
New technology
The new metering device is a computer that measures both active and reactive power as well as several power quality parameters and records the load profile. Summation is performed virtually by the MV-90. Relays with optically isolated outputs are used to transmit data to the customer. The meter is connected to the server via an external link which can easily be replaced as communication technologies evolve.
Metering regulations are more restrictive in Canada than in the United States. Like other utilities, Hydro-Québec must meet the criteria defined by Measurement Canada, a federal agency whose mission includes approving new meters, periodically inspecting installed meters and accrediting private sector organizations to provide meter inspection and certification services on its behalf.
Under existing regulations, all meters must be approved by Measurement Canada before being put to commercial use, which limits the number of technologies and suppliers to choose from. The Measurement Canada seal guarantees that a unit meets applicable standards. To ensure full compliance with the agency’s requirements and live up to its customers' expectations in this area, Hydro-Québec established a quality assurance policy in 1994 and revised it in 1997. Its quality system, rated one of the best among Canadian utilities, covers all aspects of meter quality assurance, from acquisition to installation on the customer’s premises. The company also developed its own meter certification process, based on Canadian and international standards as well as specific climatic requirements. These initiatives are all designed to ensure the quality and reliability of metering equipment—a need that has become all the more pressing with the proliferation of new electronic meters in the marketplace.
To monitor the performance of installed mechanical and electromechanical meters, Hydro-Québec set up periodic inspection programs aimed at complementing existing calibration and inspection procedures. It is thus able to identify units that no longer operate properly and replace them as needed. When it comes to more advanced technologies, however, things are not quite so simple. For starters, instead of calling for the sample testing of meters as in the case of electromechanical devices, Measurement Canada regulations currently require that electronic meters be replaced systematically for calibration every six years. This represents prohibitive recurring costs for distributors, particularly in the residential sector.
To address this issue, the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) has formed working groups with representation from consumer advocacy organizations, meter suppliers and utilities, including Hydro-Québec. Their task is to develop and recommend solutions more in line with international standards, that would provide an alternative to the massive replacement of meters over short periods of time and thus reduce costs. Measurement Canada’s initial response has been fairly positive, and its final decision is highly anticipated given the huge impact it will have on the modernization of Canada’s installed meter base.
Furthermore, under provincial regulations, any improvement of existing facilities that entails significant additional costs must be submitted to the Régie de l’énergie (energy board) for approval.
The evolution of metering at Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec’s meter base includes some 3.5 million devices, a third of which have been in operation for 25 years.
In the late 1980s, Hydro-Québec began installing remote-reading meters in all its major industrial customers’ facilities for load research purposes. These customers were thus the first to benefit from the numerous advantages of AMR, namely greater reliability, higher accuracy and a better understanding of their consumption profile, which made it easier to manage their consumption and power demand.
In the mid 1990s, the company began experimenting with two promising technologies geared to a broader customer base as a means of dealing with accessibility and safety issues and improving efficiency. To date, it has installed Nertec phone home technology, which makes use of shared telephone lines, in 50,000 customer sites and equipped another 100,000 homes with AMRT RF meters that can be read by means of handheld devices.
The late 1990s were marked by the emergence of competition in the wholesale energy market. Hydro-Québec responded by opening its transmission system to third parties and creating a separate division, Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie, to act as Transmission Provider. In return, it was
granted power marketer status by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), allowing it to conduct transactions directly in the U.S. under regular market conditions. Then, in 2001, the company further unbundled its activities by creating three additional divisions: a Generator, a Distributor and a Builder.
In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, Hydro-Québec regards the deployment of advanced metering technologies as an opportunity to better meet customers’ expectations. Specifically, these allow distributors to
- launch new services adapted to specific needs;
- promote better consumption management through the introduction of new rate options, tracking tools, etc.;
- gain a better understanding of customers’ consumption patterns and adjust their service portfolios accordingly.
AMR also represents an ideal solution for managing energy transactions between Hydro-Québec’s divisions, suppliers and wholesale customers.
From meter replacement to data management
In 1999, Hydro-Québec initiated a major program aimed at modernizing the metering equipment of its commercial, industrial and institutional customers. To this end, it implemented a state-of-the-art server platform designed to optimize meter reading and related data processing functions. The company opted for the Itron MV-90 multi-vendor data collection and analysis system, to which all remote-reading meters are connected. Users will soon be able to access metering data via the MV-STAR data management system and the MV-WEB Internet-based data display system, which make use of stringent security profiles to ensure data integrity and reliability. Once uploaded, consumption data are archived for billing and management purposes, based on predefined criteria. Hydro-Québec’s processing centre currently manages data generated by over 10,000 business customers (including neighboring systems and private producers), which represents nearly 960,000 readings per day. By 2006, these figures are expected to reach 66,000 customers and 2.5 million readings per day. The collected data constitutes strategic information, both for Hydro-Québec and its customers.
Key benefits which are expected from the progressive deployment of this technology include:
- optimized operations;
- fewer data management and transmission problems and processing constraints;
- secure, upgradable tools with built-in simulation and analysis functions making it easier for customers to track and manage their consumption;
- the ability to support larger volumes of data;
- the ability to adopt the best industry practices.
Extending AMR to the entire customer base
As mentioned earlier, Hydro-Québec’s 300 major customers were the first to benefit from AMR and related services because of the complexity of their load management requirements. By 2003, all first-generation AMR devices will have been replaced by state-of-the-art meters connected via dedicated telephone lines. The main technologies adopted for this clientele are the Schlumberger Quantum® Q1000 Electronic Multimeasurement Meter and the ABB ION®
8500 Power Quality/Revenue Meter.
As part of the modernization program launched in 1999, Hydro-Québec also plans to gradually extend AMR to a larger number of commercial, institutional and industrial (CII) customers and, to a lesser degree, residential customers. By 2004, it hopes to install General Electric kV® or ABB Alpha® meters in the facilities of 22,000 customers with annual electricity bills in excess of $500,000. Power and consumption data will be recorded every 15 minutes and uploaded to the company’s processing centre each night via dedicated telephone lines.
Some 40,000 other business customers with a power demand greater than 50 kW, whose meters must be read on a monthly basis under existing regulations, will be issued similar units, as will new and hard-to-reach customers. To keep costs down, communication links other than dedicated lines are being looked into for this customer segment, and facility upgrades will be done as part of regular operations.
On the residential side, Hydro-Québec continues to bank on AMR to make efficiency gains and solve accessibility and safety issues. In addition to the 150,000 homes already served by Nertec phone home technology or AMRT RF meters, other residential sites will be upgraded over the next two years as part of a pilot project aimed at testing new RF technologies, such as fixed and drive-by systems. The results of these projects will help shape the company’s future meter upgrade strategies.
Campaigns designed to encourage customers to submit their own readings by mail, by phone or online are also being considered, along with improvements to existing consumption estimation methods.
A technology with multiple benefits
Hydro-Québec intends to make the most of the possibilities offered by AMR in terms of new products and services, metering capabilities and distribution system management.
More services to choose from
With AMR, Hydro-Québec can monitor its customers' consumption profiles more closely and adapt its service portfolio accordingly. Here are a few of the services it has already introduced:
- Reading date selection – Customers can have their meters read on the date(s) of their choice, which means that they can schedule their billing dates to fit with their budgeting requirements.
- Aggregated billing – Multiple account holders can choose between various aggregation options to simplify their accounting.
- Consumption tracking – Customers can access their consumption data and track their usage online.
- Load management – A signal is transmitted to the customer when he is about to exceed his contract power. This allows him to shed part of his load and thereby avoid paying optimization charges.
All these services translate into greater flexibility and added value for the customer.
Greater reliability and accuracy
The number of erroneous readings has dropped significantly due to the high accuracy of electronic meters and the inherent reliability of AMR compared with manual readings. Moreover, the remote reading of hard-to-reach sites has led to a decrease in consumption estimates. This in turn has resulted in greater billing accuracy as well as fewer complaints and billing adjustments. In addition, the fact that readings can be taken more frequently opens up new possibilities, such as real-time billing.
Optimized distribution system management
AMR also provides for better system management. For example, remote-reading meters can be programmed to detect outages as soon as they occur. Service can thus be restored more quickly and efficiently, leading to a reduction in the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI). To this end, Hydro-Québec plans to install remote-reading meters in key substations and has already implemented a program to modernize the metering equipment in its interconnection
facilities. Remote reading will also facilitate peak load management and help the company avoid power disturbances on its system.
In short, AMR paves the way for an optimization of the power supply, new consumption management capabilities and rate options, realtime billing and enhanced fraud detection. However, it is only by developing know-how and promoting innovation in this area that utilities will be able to tap its full potential.
Previous technology
First-generation AMR equipment serving major customers. Active and reactive power were recorded separately by mechanical meters, then added on location by means of an electronic summator programmed specifically for the site. The load profile was recorded by the register. Mechanical output relays transmitted data to the customer.
New technology
The new metering device is a computer that measures both active and reactive power as well as several power quality parameters and records the load profile. Summation is performed virtually by the MV-90. Relays with optically isolated outputs are used to transmit data to the customer. The meter is connected to the server via an external link which can easily be replaced as communication technologies evolve.
