Iskraemeco and Canal Distribution Company are transforming the electricity distribution network into a smart metering environment. Iskraemeco’s smart solution consists of 50,000 smart meters for residential and industrial applications and a Head-End System for meter data collection and management.
With Iskraemeco’s smart metering solution, Canal Distribution Company will improve energy efficiency and enable higher quality services for end users. Consumers will be able to improve their energy use and, consequently, reduce their consumption costs.
This turn-key smart metering project includes Iskraemeco’s smart meters with PLC and GPRS communication technologies and HES, Iskraemeco’s proprietary software solution with progressive functionalities. Besides the hardware and software solution, Iskraemeco has also provided servers and the necessary infrastructure, networking points, operating systems and a Data Base Management System along with necessary licensing and support.
Deployment of smart meters with GPRS and PLC communication technologies enables:
- Secure transmission of data, either obtained manually or automatically through automatic scheduling data collection provided by HES, to the consumers, the Distribution Network Operators, or another operator (for example Metering Operator);
- Bidirectional communication between the smart meters installed in consumer/producer environment and the data concentrators (information management points) belonging to the Distribution Network Operators;
- Remote control connection/disconnection from the network or demand limitation at the consumer’s side;
- Implementation of differentiated tariffs;
- Generation of reports for multiple data and events produced by the metering points.
Furthermore, Iskraemeco is responsible for integrating the HES with the MDM (Meter Data Management System) provided by Egyptian Electricity Holding Company. The project is currently in the “Go Live” stage. Both systems, the HES provided by Iskraemeco and MDM Oracle, are fully integrated and meet EEHC’s specifications according to Multispeak protocol. Integration of the two systems
provides the following benefits:
- EEHC and Canal Distribution Company are now able to generate bills for customers, either residential or industrial,
- Customers are able to pay for their smart metering bills online,
- Reduces technical and non-technical losses through the following scenarios:
- Technical losses: By enabling net metering scenarios and calculating the difference between generation and consumption.
- Non-technical losses: Represent a major problem for the utilities due to any kind of anomaly (installation error, meter parametrization error, faulty meter or energy fraud). Not only do they cause significant revenue losses, but they can also affect the power system operation as they provide uncertainty of the real consumption. This leads to better revenue protection and more efficient servicing for the metering nodes.
- Generate more detailed reports that give the utility more control and detailed insights over the whole electricity grid.
With Iskraemeco`s smart solution, the Canal Distribution Company will be able to overcome challenges in the existing infrastructure and reap the benefits of a smart electricity distribution network.
