NNoorthrth t too A Alalasskkaa - Elstere · Elster Electricity, LLC offers integrated,...
Transcript of NNoorthrth t too A Alalasskkaa - Elstere · Elster Electricity, LLC offers integrated,...
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North to Alaska North to Alaska Metering to the ExtremesMetering to the Extremes
By Ronald B. Via
Even with the possibility of deregulation looming in the future
for many utilities and with today's uncertain energy markets,
most utility companies still build their business cases for AMR
based simply on automating the meter reading process for
monthly billing. It is not very often that an electric utility
builds a business case for metering automation that goes
beyond the capabilities of conventional automated meter
reading (AMR) systems available on the market today. Most
utilities in North America, and in the United States in
particular, have the luxury of an expansive infrastructure that is
already in place, and it is this infrastructure that allows them to
choose from a variety of AMR systems. The power distribution
grid covers the vast majority of the nation. There is extensive
landline and wireless communications systems in place, and
most areas are accessible by road.
It might surprise you that some utilities in North America don't
have access to the distribution grid and do not have the
expansive roadway infrastructure that most other utility
companies do. Alaska Village Electric Cooperative
Incorporated (AVEC) is one such utility company. AVEC
covers the largest geographical area of any electric coopera
tive in the world. It has 52 member villages that span from
Kivalina in the far north to Old Harbor on Kodiak Island in the
far south, and as far west as Gambell on St. Lawrence Island
(within sight of Siberia), to as far east as Minto, located
approximately 80 miles west of Fairbanks. Of the 52 member
villages only Minto is accessible by road. All other AVEC
communities are accessible only by airplane or cargo marine
vessel during certain times of the year.
Because of the extreme conditions in AVEC's service area, it
was obvious to them when they began looking at metering
automation that conventional AMR technology such as walk-
by/drive-by fixed network and power line carrier (PLC) would
not meet their needs. The villages in AVEC's service area are
500 to 600 miles from their home office in Anchorage. Each
village in their service area has a local power plant and there
are no tie lines between most villages. To provide electrical
power to their customers (approximately 7,000 meter points
serving 21,000 customers), AVEC has over 144 diesel
generators that run a cumulative total of more than 410,000
hours per year.
In the summer of 2005, AVEC began deploying Elster
Electricity's EnergyAxis® System to enhance their business
operations and provide better customer service. It was clear to
AVEC that the EnergyAxis System's state-of-the-art smart
metering technology was the most cost-effective metering
solution that would meet their needs. The EnergyAxis System
uses smart electronic REX® meters (residential meters) within
a controlled mesh network with two-way communications that
provides a robust and reliable communication system. The
network is a repeating, self-configuring, and self-healing
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North to Alaska North to Alaska Metering to the ExtremesMetering to the Extremes
By far the biggest advantage that AVEC found in the
EnergyAxis System's smart metering technology was its ease
of deployment. The system is easily deployed by simply
installing meters, so AVEC did not need to design or pay for an
expensive infrastructure to have state-of-the-art metering
automation in their extreme service area. According to Randy
Vallee, Technology and Training Superintendent at AVEC, “The
deciding factor in choosing Elster's EnergyAxis System was
ease of installation. We needed a system that we could install
without a lot of special instructions and effort. This is especially
important in the rural locations that we operate in.”
“Our first installation was in Old Harbor, located on Kodiak
Island. We installed the meters and system in one day. We
installed 118 meters, including nodes, with a four-person crew.
The toughest part of the installation was correcting the system
maps to reflect the new meters and their locations relative to
the transformers and feeders. The Kodiak Island installation
had a couple of long jumps that would challenge the distance
of the EnergyAxis System's two-way communications. But it
was very gratifying when I called Elster support to read the
system. All the meters came up immediately and read with
high signal strength. This proved to us that the EnergyAxis
System's controlled mesh network is a robust communication
system.”
AVEC found that the EnergyAxis System's performance was
impressive. Randy said, “I was planning to install an additional
AVEC's initial deployment in 2005 targeted five of its villages:
Wales, Old Harbor, Kasigluk, Nunapitchuk and Teller. Randy
Vallee said, “We chose our locations for the first phase of
deployment for a couple of reasons. We chose the village of
Wales entirely based on the winter elements the metering
system would be exposed to. Most of the homes in the village
are covered with drifting snow in the winter. When this
happens, it makes reading the meters difficult, if not
hazardous, because tunnels must be dug in the snow to get to
the meter on the house. Additionally, this location has a high
penetration wind generation system with multiple power
injection points, so we expect this location will provide a good
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network and all the REX meters in each village communicate
—to a central collection point Elster's A3 ALPHA® meter
—collector at the power generation plant. Some of the REX
meters will have the optional remote connect and disconnect
feature that allows AVEC to disconnect power for delinquent
accounts, since some of the areas are not accessible for
many months of the year. Most of the areas served can be
covered with as much as ten feet or more of drifting snow in
the winter.
REX meter to use as a repeater on a long stretch of road. The
repeater would have been about 2,500 feet from the first REX
meter installed outside of a metal building where the A3
ALPHA meter collector was installed. But we did not need the
additional meter repeater because we were transmitting over
water and the repeating mesh network performed well. When
the EnergyAxis System's Metering Automation Server (MAS)
was installed in my office, and we read the meters at this
location, we had a 100 percent successful read rate. I was
very pleased when I plotted a couple of the meters on the
maps and saw the communication distances the controlled
mesh network plotted to return to the A3 ALPHA meter
collector. The dynamics of the EnergyAxis System's controlled
mesh network at this installation is absolutely awesome, and
bordering on almost unbelievable.”
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test of the system's robustness. The villages of Kasigluk and
Nunapitchuk have a tieline between their locations and were
chosen to test the new system in inter-tied communities,
especially since the community without the primary generation
source has a back-up generator that will alter the power flow
source during an outage.”
AVEC found additional value in the EnergyAxis System
because REX meters with the remote connect/disconnect
feature have the disconnect switch installed inside the meter;
thus they have the same outward appearance as meters
without the disconnect switch. This feature was important to
AVEC because of rural Alaska's culture. With the remote
connect/disconnect switch out of view, it protects the privacy of
utility customers. While this might seem trivial in the lower 48
states, it is very important in rural Alaska because of the social
impact within the cultures of these small villages.
Meera Kohler, President and CEO of AVEC, comments, “Life
in an Alaskan village is about as rustic and remote as it gets.
But that does not mean that our members do not expect and
enjoy the same technology that is emerging in the lower 48
states. Every rural school has broadband Internet access and
students learn from teachers hundreds and even thousands of
miles away. Small local medical clinics are connected via the
Internet to doctors and technicians in larger hub communities,
so that state-of-the-art medical care can be provided locally. It
About the AuthorRonald B. Via is a Vice President of electricity metering, Elster
Electricity, LLC, Raleigh, North Carolina. Via's responsibilities include
strategic market planning, bottom line financial performance, sales
objectives and long term growth projections.
About the CompanyElster Electricity, LLC offers integrated, cost-effective solutions
including advanced electricity meters, communication solutions and
metering automation systems for residential and C&I applications,
designed to meet the diverse metering requirements of a global
customer base.
www.elsterelectricity.com
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North to Alaska North to Alaska Metering to the ExtremesMetering to the Extremes
is only logical that we should be able to access electric meters
instantaneously from our office in Anchorage to diagnose
outages (individual, neighbors or entire feeders) and to be
more responsive to our members' needs. Going to AMR
means being able to automate our billing system and allow
members access through the Internet to view and pay their
bills. Being able to remotely connect and disconnect meters
was also a major draw.”
Even though electricity is expensive in rural Alaska, at an
average cost of 40 cents per kWh, the introduction of stable
electricity has brought about many changes in these villages.
They have better health care, improved housing, schools,
water and sewer systems, improved communications and new
businesses. At Elster Electricity, our vision is to develop
products that our customers value and that enable them to
improve their business operations and deliver better service to
their customers. I believe that AVEC is just the beginning of a
trend now starting within the utility industry. You might say,
utilities are beginning to redefine AMR and what features and
functionality they expect from their metering systems. As we
move forward into the future, I expect to see more utilities
discover how they can use and leverage the state-of-the-art
smart metering technology that the EnergyAxis System offers.