Ground breaking project in Denmark
Aiming at improved efficiency in billing and customer service Roskilde Utilities and Hilleroed Electricity, Water and Heating have broken with tradition and deployed a joint multi-utility system. Using one single automatic meter reading solution the two utilities can manage meter data from both heat, electricity and water.
The biggest in Europe
The project, which is Europe’s biggest, deals with 59.000 meters and consists of electronic meters for reading electricity, water and heat consumption. Installation of the meters is in full progress and the meter reading system will be completed March 2009 in Roskilde and 2010 in Hilleroed.
“It was the liberalisation of the electricity market in Denmark in 2005, that led us to start the project. All customers with an annual consumption of 100.000 kWh or more had to be read on an hourly basis. In the Roskilde and Hilleroed districts, we decided to start hourly readings on installations with an annual consumption of over 50.000 kWh and in order to do this, we needed to have the meters read automaticly” , says Bjarne Jaegerskou from Roskilde Utilities.
Carl-Erik Anthonsen, who managed the works in Hillerød Electricity, Water and Heating at that time, adds, “We had worked together quite a lot previously within electricity. Even though as companies we were not organised 100% in the same way, we were very similar and it therefore seemed only natural to have a joint remote meter reading project. We were relatively small utilities compared to our competitors, and from a competitive standpoint, joining forces made us stronger.”
A total solution determined choice of supplier
“We chose Kamstrup because the majority of our meter park for heating and electricity supply is already from Kamstrup. We know their products and the company and we know what they stand for. Kamstrup was therefore an obvious choice.
Kamstrup provides us with a total solution able to read all three utility supplies (electricity, water and heating) in one single system. This is a
major advantage and we do not have to replace existing meters, but can simply update them with the communication module.”
The solution from Kamstrup is an AMM (Automatic Meter Management) system, comprising electricity, heat and water meters, communication modules, software and services. With the newest type of electricity meters from Kamstrup, the system even handles remote connect and disconnect of customer sites.
The unique aspect of the solution is that all meters communicate via the same communication route and network. This gives utilities the opportunity to read several data from the meters which can then be used for operational or informational purposes.
Electronic device exchange system eases replacements
To avoid disruption to the customer, all meters are installed in residences at the same time by local installers, from electricity and plumbing and heating.
For meter exchange, Kamstrup supplied an electronic exchange system which substitutes the traditional use of paper and pencil. The system consists of a handheld terminal which installers use to swap over the old meter details with the new meter ID and data. This enables all data to be automatically entered into the central IT system of the utility.
Remote meter reading is a great advantage for both customer and supplier
The new meters will be remotely read via radio network, GSM or PLC. It is therefore no longer necessary for customers to read their meters and send in their meter reading cards. The utilities will be able to advise their customers better regarding their bills or to get energy saving tips, given that it will only take approx. one minute to read the meter. This also means that any readings when moving property can be taken care of immediately.
“Consumers have been very positive about the project. Just the fact that they no longer have to read their meters or receive reminders when they haven’t sent their cards in on time, is an obvious advantage to people,” say Bjarne Jaegerskou.
Meters will be read once a month. Meter readings will be entered into the reading system and customers can, via the Internet, check up on their own heating, water or electricity consumption on a month by month basis. By having a remote meter reading system, utilities also have an opportunity to offer their customers an overview of their consumption, so that they automatically receive a warning if their consumption rises above a fixed percentage.
In about 700 installations electricity meters are read on a daily basis enabling tariff and load profile calculations.
Meter reading servers are hosted by Kamstrup while the operating PC is placed with the utilities in Roskilde and Hilleroed. Data transmission between the utilities and Kamstrup takes place via the Internet.
Kamstrup manages the practicalities
“We have chosen to put the actual hardware and software itself with Kamstrup and to operate the system via the Internet. This enables us to relieve each other and create a back-up, a decision which follows our IT strategy. We have agreed a fixed price with Kamstrup per meter point, including everything from hosting to server management. This means we do not have to think about whether the system is running or not – this is Kamstrup’s responsibility.
It is very simple and we are very satisfied with Kamstrup as our supplier. They listen to our wishes and we have a good relationship with them ” concludes Bjarne Jaegerskou.
