Metering.com - The Metering International information and news site

Smart meters to be piloted in Abu Dhabi

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:46:08 +0100

Abu Dhabi, UAE --- (METERING.COM) --- March 16, 2010 - Smart meters are soon to be fitted in select homes in Abu Dhabi in a pilot project to test the technology in saving energy and thereby driving down demand and system peaks.

In its newly released annual work plan for 2010, the Regulation & Supervision Bureau says that over the past few years, both the Al Ain Distribution Company (AADC) and Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC) have been installing electronic meters, initially for automatic meter reading (AMR) purposes. However, the potential uses of these meters exceed AMR and they could form the basis for a range of smarter solutions in terms of tariffs and power purchasing options.

Smart meters not to be extensively regulated in New Zealand

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:38:30 +0100

Wellington, New Zealand --- (METERING.COM) --- March 16, 2010 - New Zealand’s energy and resources minister Gerry Brownlee has confirmed that smart metering in the country will not be extensively regulated.

In announcing his decision Brownlee said he agreed to the recommendations set out by the Electricity Commission in its December 2009 report on a rollout and requirements for smart meters in New Zealand.

Draft national action plan for demand response in U.S. laid out

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:29:40 +0100

Washington, DC, U.S.A. --- (METERING.COM) --- March 16, 2010 - A coalition should be established to provide assistance to the United States federal government in implementing a national action plan on demand response, according to the draft plan.

Coalitions represent a way of harnessing the collective energy of a variety of individual organizations and yielding outcomes that have greater reach and depth than those organizations would achieve on their own.

Industry group launched to promote European supergrid

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:54:08 +0100

Brussels, Belgium --- (METERING.COM) --- March 15, 2010 - A group of ten companies have established a “Friends of the Supergrid” (FOSG) to progress policy towards the construction of a pan-European offshore supergrid to connect large scale renewable power generation across the region.

Grant to investigate solar, AMI integration

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:24:04 +0100

San Jose, CA, U.S.A. --- (METERING.COM) --- March 15, 2010 - Silicon Valley solar system manufacturer SunPower Corp. has been awarded a grant from the California Solar Initiative Research, Development, Deployment and Demonstration (CSI RD&D) Program to investigate the integration of solar systems with smart metering.

SunPower will team up with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) on the project to research the new hardware and software tools for providing bi-directional communication and management between PV systems and utility controls using advanced metering infrastructure.

U.S. smart grid investment grants determined to be non-taxable

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:59:45 +0100

Washington, DC, U.S.A. --- (METERING.COM) --- March 15, 2010 - Under guidance from the United States Department of Treasury and Department of Energy Recovery Act funding under the $3.4 billion Smart Grid Investment Grant program is deemed to be non-taxable.

This will enable corporate utilities to launch their investments with a clear indication of the tax status for their projects, and will allow the Department of Energy to move forward quickly to finalize grant agreements over the coming weeks.

Duke Energy joins Home Plug Alliance

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:48:24 +0100

March 11, 2010 - The HomePlug(R) Powerline Alliance, today announced that Duke Energy, USA, which delivers energy to 4m customers has joined the Alliance's board of directors.

"Powerline networking will play a key role in connecting home appliances and systems to the Smart Grid enabling intelligent management and monitoring for energy savings and efficiency," said David Mohler, VP and chief technology officer, Duke Energy. "HomePlug, as a base specification within the IEEE 1901 Standard, offers an interoperable standards based technology roadmap from low cost to high-bandwidth and next-generation solutions that will meet the needs of the robust home network that is necessary for the smart grid. We look forward to increasing our involvement with the Alliance."

Chicago’s Com Ed to pilot large scale Smart Meter and Grid program

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:37:48 +0100

March 11, 2010 - Com Ed will use $5 million in Recovery Act funding for the program, which will initially outfit 8,000 homes with advanced smart meters in order to test how well consumers manage their energy consumption when monitoring and programming are available. 3,100 customers will receive a basic energy use display meter, 1,500 will get a touch-screen version that allows for electricity monitoring and internet access, and 400 will also receive programmable thermostats that allow remote control of heating and cooling systems.

Echelon ships 2 million NES smart meters

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:23:33 +0100

March 11, 2010 - These meters will become part of the smart grid installation currently being deployed by Eltel Networks A/S for the Danish utility SEAS-NVE, in Denmark's largest smart grid project with over 390,000 smart meters. The announcement was made today at the 2010 Smart Metering Scandinavia event in Copenhagen, Denmark.
http://copenhagen2010.smartmetering.eu/

CRC Energy Efficiency scheme in the UK places demand on AMR installers

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:15:29 +0100

March 10, 2010 - Power Efficiency, a leading energy procurement and carbon strategy consultancy, has today warned that some of the UK’s 5,000 largest energy users required to take part in the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, may not get the measures to improve their league table performance in place before the close of the first year’s reporting on 31st March 2011.

Oncor tests old mechanical and new smart meters

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:09:03 +0100

March 10, 2010 - In an effort to prove the reliability of smart meters, three dozen homes have been fitted with old meters and smart meters side by side in North and Central Texas. Both meters will record usage for the home, allowing Oncor to see whether the smart meter runs faster than the old meter. The power line company will begin reporting the results in about a week and continue weekly reporting for about a month.

68% of Americans have never heard of the Smart Grid – Harris poll

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:57:09 +0100

March 10, 2010 - Over nine hundred utility executives, government regulators, and engineers met at the Metering America conference this week to discuss the future of energy use and the smart grid.

However, a Harris Poll has highlighted the fact that although U.S. utilities have committed billions of dollars to upgrade the electric grid by installing new “smart meters” in homes and businesses. about two-thirds of Americans (68 percent) have never heard the term “smart grid” and 63 percent don’t know what a smart meter is.

Education of customers is key to acceptance of smart meters

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:39:29 +0100

March 10, 2010 - Commissioner Nancy Ryan of the California Public Utilities Commission. Ryan told the “Metering America” conference that utility rates based on time-of-day pricing related to the cost of producing electricity must be coupled with extensive customer communications and education campaigns, or the effort to align consumers and true market costs will be wasted. Ryan says it’s “imperative that the installation of smart grids and smart meters be seen as something done for customers and not something done to customers.”

Metering International Excellence Awards announced

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:40:59 +0100

San Diego, CA, U.S.A. --- (METERING.COM) --- March 9, 2010 - The winners of the 2010 Metering International Excellence Awards for North America were announced during the opening session of Metering, Billing/MDM America 2010 in San Diego, CA, yesterday.

In the “Business Case” category the winner was Dominica Electric Services (Domlec) for its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project. The project has brought multiple business benefits, in areas including outage management, system optimization, technical loss reduction, prepaid metering, service calls, damage claim reduction and vegetation management. Future benefits include Domlec’s long range plan to implement grid automation as budget allows.

In the “Customer Service” category the winner was Toronto Hydro for its “Get smart Toronto” initiative – a multi-year, integrated communication strategy that has used a phased approach for AMI smart meter and TOU rollout. In order to educate customers in preparation for the new grid and TOU rates, the more than 3-year campaign has included direct mail, automated telephone blasts, email and print publications, media relations and events from the government co-hosted lobby.

In the “Innovation” category the winner was Pulaski Electric Systems for its smart grid project leveraging a new fiber-to-the-home network. The project was aimed initially at providing a local broadband network but subsequently has cleared the path for broader utility modernization.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Reports show need for consumer education on smart grid, meters and appliances

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:35:43 +0100

March 9, 2010 - A new report by Zpryme indicates smart grid technology will be a boon for the smart appliance market. From 2011 to 2015, the global household smart appliance market is projected grow from $3.06 billion to $15.12 billion. The United States will initially dominate the smart appliance market but by 2015 its share will decrease to 36 percent, representing approximately $5.46 billion. China will account for an estimated 18.2 percent, valued at $2.76 billion.