What’s in a Name?
There’s plenty of room for confusion in today’s marketplace when it comes to defining Advanced Metering Infrastructure or “AMI,” and the industry has yet to reach a consensus definition.
As the industry leader in advanced metering technology, Itron provides its customers with a clear choice of both AMR technology and AMI technology. Itron’s AMR offering, which we call ChoiceConnect™ provides proven performance and value along with the flexibility to migrate to more advanced capabilities as business needs change. OpenWay™ by Itron, is an entirely new generation of metering, communication and control technology designed to support a more expansive set of business and technology requirements for AMI technology.
To decide which technology is better suited to meet your business needs, it’s important to review the differences between AMR and AMI technology.
What is AMR?
Short for “Automatic Meter Reading,” AMR is a term that has defined the industry in its formative years. Generally speaking, AMR refers to the ability to collect data from electricity, gas and/or water meters remotely and automatically via several different communications networks, including RF wireless, powerline carrier, telephone, and other ways. The primary purpose of the data collected through AMR systems is monthly customer billing, and reduced costs. AMR systems typically comprise meters fitted with communication modules, collection systems (including handheld computers, drive-by systems and fixed network technology), as well as supporting software to manage collection of the data. In addition to collection of consumption data, fixed network AMR systems, including Itron's ChoiceConnect provide utilities with interval data collection outage detection and restoration notification capabilities.
What is AMI?
An abbreviation for “advanced metering infrastructure,” AMI is an increasingly used term in the industry and, generally speaking, refers to systems that are capable of collecting detailed energy usage data more frequently. Collection of more timely and granular data enables utilities to support time-based pricing programs for their customers, as well as to achieve other benefits relating to energy delivery and customer empowerment via informed energy usage choices. The fact that AMI is being used to describe both current-generation AMR systems that have been available on the market for a number of years, as well as new-generation systems providing more advanced architecture and capabilities, is indicative that a consensus definition of AMI has yet to be reached.
Itron’s vision for AMI
OpenWay by Itron sets a new standard for AMI technology - both in form and function. Fundamentally, AMI represents an infrastructure that utilizes smart meters with advanced two-way communications to enable utilities to meet their business needs for meter data collection, empowers ALL their customers to actively and frequently participate in demand response and energy conservation, while supporting movement toward the Smart Grid of the future. To meet these requirements, it is critical that any AMI solution provides the following attributes and capabilities:
Meter Data Management (MDM) to provide a robust, scalable data repository to manage the huge volumes of data AMI systems collect while making that data readily accessible to users for a wide variety of applications beyond customer billing.
Open-standards architecture to enable true interoperability between systems, flexibility in communications choices, and innovation from third-party technology providers for applications not currently envisioned.
Two-way communication to every meter to enable advanced control capabilities as well as well as remote device configuration and firmware updates.
Integrated demand response and load control capability enabled by open-architecture communication standard in all meters and ready to connect with smart thermostats, smart appliances, in-home displays, and load control switches for conservation, data presentment and energy management purposes.
Advanced functionality such as load-limiting remote disconnect/reconnect capability, positive outage notification and restoration verification, and automatic tamper/theft detection to support deployment of the “Smart Grid” of the future.
This combination of attributes will be required to provide utilities and their customers with the capability and flexibility they require for conditions that justify an investment in AMI technology. Itron’s research and development efforts are focused on bringing to market an AMI solution with these capabilities and attributes.
What conditions justify an investment in AMI technology?
AMI technology stands to deliver the strongest return on investment for utilities striving to build a “culture of conservation” to address some combination of the following challenges:
Continued high fuel prices and volatility
Energy supply constraints
Commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the long term
Capacity constraints in their energy delivery system
Regulatory requirements, such as EPACT, driving deployment of AMI
This is because AMI, through its advanced data collection and demand response capabilities, enables utilities to work with their customers to reduce peak load during times when energy supply is tight and prices are high, or when system reliability is threatened. The ability to reduce peak load through time-based pricing, load control and demand response empowers customers to make choices about energy consumption, enhances system reliability, and can also mitigate the high costs and environmental concerns associated with building new generation and energy delivery assets to meet increasing energy demand.
In addition, some utilities may choose to invest in AMI technology for other reasons. In deregulated markets, where businesses and consumers may choose their energy provider in much the same way they choose a long distance provider, the advanced data collection capabilities of AMI systems may be required to support the business process and information management requirements of retail competition. Timely access to more detailed energy usage data may be required to enable customers to switch energy suppliers efficiently, or for complex billing and settlement purposes necessitated by multiple energy suppliers providing electricity to their respective customers over a common grid.
Still other utilities are looking to deploy AMI technology as an essential component of building the “Smart Grid” or “Intelligent Grid” of the future. Smart Grid generally refers to an amalgam of monitoring, communication and control technologies designed to create a grid that has the ability to be predictive and self-healing, so that grid reliability and efficiency are increased. In many respects, AMI provides the “sub-SCADA” component of the Smart Grid. Timely access to detailed usage data, coupled with monitoring and control technologies such as positive outage notification and remote disconnect capability at the premise level, are important capabilities to utilities building tomorrow’s smart grid.
How will AMI and AMR technology be positioned in the marketplace?
The AMR business case and AMR technology are proven and rock solid. The cost savings, efficiency gains, customer service improvements and revenue cycle enhancements provided by automation of the meter reading function is the reason why many leading utilities of all types and sizes continue to deploy AMR technology—such as drive-by and fixed network—in record numbers. In fact, according to the latest industry statistics, such as the 2006 Scott Report, traditional AMR technologies still constitute the vast majority of new deployments.
Ultimately, business needs and regulatory conditions drive appropriate technology selection, and AMR technology continues to be smart choice for many utilities. For instance, Itron’s ERT-based AMR technology provides the most cost-effective solution for automating collection of meter data for customer billing via drive-by AMR. Yet the system also enables utilities to deploy fixed network collectors over the same population of meters to enable more advanced capabilities such as interval data collection, positive outage and restoration notification. This combination of flexibility, reliability and cost optimization will continue to drive robust AMR system sales well in to the future.
As AMI technology matures, open standards are adopted, costs come down and the business case solidifies, AMI deployments will garner an increased share of the market. But for the foreseeable future, AMR and AMI technology are complementary offerings that will co-exist in the marketplace, with each utility’s unique combination of needs and objectives driving the selection of the most appropriate technology.
