Advanced Metering Infrastructure-The Cesc Perspective

The oldest private power utility of India, CESC, has the history of embracing technological advancements, promptly, with an eye on improving operational effectiveness & customer satisfaction. The organisation looked for value additions beyond just AMR and reaped huge benefits in the DT & high-end consumer segments. For the whole current segment, the choice is Smart meters, compared to AMR meters, as the focus, additionally, is on remote manageability and greater functional visibility of the meters. Despite the clarity on the drivers for AMI, CESC is focussed only on mitigating its current pain & gain triggers. The requirement of deploying Smart meters, in a scattered manner, has thrown up some challenges in the technological & operational fronts, for which a hybrid communication network is envisaged. Meter manufacturers are expected, to supply detachable communication modules, catering to various technology offerings, to suit the deployment need. CESC wishes to have a common multipurpose communication canopy, housing the various facets of Smart Grid, although insufficient bandwidth is a cause of concern.

Interoperability woes are to be mitigated, through the sharing of communication network provider's NIC, between meters of different manufacturers. CESC focuses on least cost of ownership of the AMI system, after factoring in the various expectations on the Smart meter front, communication redundancies, MDM capability, integration involvement, IHD compatibility features, holistically. Beyond the declared 14 Smart Grid Pilots, a Governmental push or a Regulatory nudge shall trigger a “win-win” situation for all in AMI deployment.