Looking at meter reading options

The Town of Groton has nearly doubled its population over the last 20 years, while Groton Electric Light has maintained the same number of employees. One way we have accomplished this is by using technology efficiently, which is why we are now evaluating options for a new meter reading system.

The town’s high growth rate has brought us to a crossroads of either hiring another meter reader or embracing automatic meter reading. Until we complete our analysis, we have supplemented our workforce with a temporary, part-time meter reader.

Automated meter reading (AMR) systems are a significant capital investment, so the pitfalls to avoid include technologies that may be quickly headed for obsolescence or, conversely, have not been sufficiently tested. An AMR technology should be flexible to provide advanced applications for the future.

The technology options range from one-way transmitters installed in the meter to various modes of two-way communication. With a one-way transmitter, information can be collected as the meter reader drives by each location. This would reduce our twenty-two days of meter reading down to two.

The technologies with the most flexibility appear to be broadband over power lines (BPL) and general packet radio service (GPRS). These are the high-end options.

BPL is an exciting though commercially unproven option. BPL permits delivery of not only electricity, but broadband connectivity for Internet, voice and video over the powerlines. Broadband access is available at every electrical outlet in the building. The two-way communications ability provides advanced functions such as load control, real-time pricing, and outage notification.

GPRS is a slightly more mature technology that also provides two-way communications. Some vendors are packaging their systems with “smart home” technology. A “smart home” has an electronic device to allow communication between the meter and various appliances. This would allow the homeowner to monitor and control those appliances remotely. It also allows the electric utility, with the permission of the homeowner, to control designated appliances to reduce power costs. The savings are shared with the homeowner.

GPRS does not provide broadband connectivity as does BPL, but there are many futuristic applications being proposed for GPRS, such as visually monitoring your home, that make this technology very appealing.

Stay tuned to see how we will improve our efficiency and productivity over the year ahead.

The benefits of an automatic system

We currently read the electric meters of Groton by sight and manually enter these readings into hand-held computers. Our meter readers spend all day avoiding animals, negotiating their way through landscaping and battling the elements to get those readings. With an automatic system, these challenges would vanish. A regular 30-day read cycle would be much easier to implement, holidays would no longer cause some bills to cover a 35-day period, and human error would be eliminated. Manpower could be then transferred to maintaining and improving our infrastructure.