Unlocking Efficiency and Empowering Consumers: The Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Revolution

• Himanshu Patni
• June 28, 2023
• BLOG, TELECOM & IT
• Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Analysis, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Growth, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Outlook, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Share, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Size, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Trends
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AMI is a fully equipped infrastructure that must be integrated into both current and future utility processes and applications, rather than being a single technological installation.
This infrastructure includes smart meters, communication networks from the meters to local data concentrators, back-haul communications networks to corporate data centres, meter data management systems (MDMS), and finally, data integration into existing and new software application platforms. Home network systems include communicating thermostats and other in-home controls. AMI also offers a highly “intelligent” step in the direction of updating the entire power infrastructure.
The interfaces between the AMI technologies are depicted visually in Figure 1 below:

Smart meters provide consumption information to the user and the service provider at the consumer level. To help consumers become more conscious of their energy usage, smart meters connect with in-home displays. Further, load control devices like smart thermostats can modify electricity demand depending on previously set consumer price preferences thanks to the knowledge about electric pricing provided by the service provider. Based on these economic indications, more sophisticated customers build distributed energy resources (DER). Additionally, consumer portals process AMI data in a way that enables smarter energy use choices and even offers interactive services like prepayment.

To improve operations, economics, and customer service, the service provider (utility) uses new, improved, or existing back-office systems to gather and analyse AMI data. AMI, for instance, offers fast input on customer outages and power quality, allowing the service provider to quickly correct grid problems. Additionally, grid automation at the station and circuit levels is supported by the AMI’s bidirectional communications infrastructure. The enormous volume of fresh data coming from AMI enables better utility asset management as well as better planning for asset upkeep, additions, and replacements. One of the numerous advantages of AMI is the improved reliability and efficiency of the grid.

Why AMI?

AMI DEPLOYMENT & DATA GROWTH
Figure 2.

WHAT TECHNOLOGY OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR AMI?
An AMI system is made up of various technologies and programmes that have been combined to work as one unit:
• Smart meters
• Wide-area communications infrastructure
• Home (local) area networks (HANs)
• Meter Data Management Systems (MDMS)
• Operational Gateways

SMART METERS
For most of its history, conventional electromechanical meters served as the utility cash register. At the residential level, these meters simply recorded the total amount of energy consumed over a given time period, which was usually a month. Smart meters are solid-state programmable devices that can do a variety of things, including the majority or all of the following:
• Time-based pricing
• Consumption data for consumer and utility
• Net metering • Power loss (and restoration) notification
• Remote turn on / turn off operations
• Load limiting for “bad pay” or demand response purposes
• Energy prepayment
• Power quality monitoring
• Tamper and energy theft detection

A smart meter is also a green meter because it allows for demand response, which can reduce emissions and carbon emissions. It promotes greater energy efficiency because information feedback has been shown to cause consumers to reduce their usage.

COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE
The AMI communications infrastructure enables continuous interaction between the utility, the consumer, and the electrical load that can be controlled. It must use open bidirectional communication standards while remaining highly secure. Beyond AMI, it has the potential to serve as the foundation for a plethora of modern grid functions. Local concentrators, which collect data from groups of meters and transmit it to a central server via a backhaul channel, are one of the most common architectures. Several media can be considered for providing some or all of this architecture:
• Power Line Carrier (PLC)
• Broadband overpower Lines (BPL)
• Copper or optical fibre
• Wireless (Radio frequency), either centralized or distributed mesh
• Internet
• Combinations of the above

HOME AREA NETWORKS (HAN)
A HAN communicates with a consumer portal in order to connect smart meters to controllable electrical devices. Its energy management functions may include the following:
• In-home displays, so the consumer is always aware of how much energy is being used and how much it costs.
• Responsiveness to price signals based on consumer-entered preferences
• Set points that limit utility or local control actions to a consumer-specified band
• Load control without ongoing consumer involvement
By acting as the consumer’s “agent,” the HAN/consumer portal provides a smart interface to the market. It can also help with new value-added services like security monitoring.

METER DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (MDMS)
A MDMS is a database that includes analytical tools that allow interaction with other information systems (see Operational Gateways below), such as the ones listed below:
• The Consumer Information System (CIS), billing systems, and utility websites
• System for Outage Management (OMS)
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for power quality management and load forecasting
• Geographic Information System (GIS)
• Transformer Load Management (TLM)
• Mobile Workforce Management (MWM)

OPERATIONAL GATEWAYS
AMI communicates with a variety of system-side applications (including MDMS) to support:
Advanced Distribution Operations (ADO)
• Advanced sensors in the distribution management system (including PQ data from AMI meters)
• Advanced Outage Management (AMI meter-based real-time outage information)
Advanced Transmission Operations (ATO)
• Substation Automation
• High-speed information processing
• Advanced protection and control (including distribution control to improve transmission conditions) meters)
Advanced Asset Management (AAM)
AMI data will help AAM in the following ways:
• System operational data
• Asset “health” data
• Operations to optimised asset utilization
• T&D planning

Benefits
The advantages of AMI are numerous and can be broadly classified as follows:
• Operational Benefits – AMI benefits the entire grid by improving meter read accuracy, detecting energy theft, and responding to power outages, all while eliminating the need for on-site meter reading.
• Financial Benefits – AMI provides financial benefits to utility, water, and gas companies by lowering equipment and maintenance costs, allowing for faster restoration of electric service during outages, and streamlining the billing process.
• Customer Advantages – AMI benefits electric customers by detecting meter failures early, allowing for faster service restoration, and improving billing accuracy and flexibility. AMI also provides time-based rate options, which can help customers save money and manage their energy consumption.
• Security Benefits- AMI technology enables improved monitoring of system resources, reducing potential cyber-terrorist network threats to the grid.
Challenges
• High capital costs: A full-scale implementation of AMI necessitates the purchase of all hardware and software elements, including meters, network infrastructure, and network management software, in addition to the cost of setting up and maintaining information technology systems and metering infrastructure.
• Integration: Customer Information Systems (CIS), Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Outage Management Systems (OMS), Work Management (WMS), Mobile Workforce Management (MWM), SCADA/DMS, Distribution Automation System (DAS), etc. must all be integrated with AMI, a complex system of technologies.
• Standardization: To properly connect and maintain an AMI-based grid system, interoperability standards—which establish universal requirements for AMI technology, deployment, and general operations—must be created.

Conclusion
Significant technological advances in the use and delivery of electrical energy were made in the 21st century. To overcome the difficulties these improvements face, new tools and strategies are needed. One such instrument is the advanced metering infrastructure. An infrastructure that can perform real-time data acquisition from consumers, communicate the data, and return the executive directives to the loads has manifested as a result of advancements and developments in electronics, instrumentation, communication, and data handling. With the help of this useful technology, operators and utility firms can plan and optimised their network’s performance with first-hand knowledge of its condition. Both the ends of the customer and the provider could use the gathered data for consumption regulation.
Energy companies and consumers can save millions of dollars on damage prevention and maintenance costs by using the diagnostic and notification tools offered by AMI, such as leak detection in water and gas networks or cyber or physical attack detection. The potential inclusion of cutting-edge services like fire detection, notification, and monitoring via mobile apps further enhanced the networks’ value and drew interest from the general public to the SG and AMI. Another benefit of AMI is improved security for provided electricity and communicated information. Additionally, AMI gives users more control over their consumption habits. Additionally, it provides more stable and high-quality power.

Author:
Sonu Kumar Sah