Customer case stories 30.11.2018
From 300-600 monthly manual reading jobs to fully automated reading – Västervik Environment and Energy ready with new generation meters
Västervik Environment and Energy was the first Swedish DSO to complete the meter replacement with new smart electricity meters. 12,500 new smart electricity meters are now in place and a monthly cost of up to about SEK 300,000 has been saved thanks to the fact that no manual meter reading is needed anymore. Aidon had the opportunity to talk to Per-Erik Ekström, Head of Business Area Electricity Networks, and Sebastian Johansson, responsible for installations, to find out more about their experiences from the project.
We had the opportunity to know more about the project from Per-Erik Ekström, head of the Electricity Networks business area, and Sebastian Johansson, responsible for installations.
Västervik Environment and Energy was the first to start the roll-out of new smart electricity meters. How did you come to be so early?
– Our old system was in very bad condition. It required 300-600 manual readings a month, something that is both costly and labourious. We realised that it was no longer sustainable and that we would have to replace our entire system. In the beginning, we were looking for the next generation of PLC systems, but then on a trade fair we got in touch with Aidon. We immediately got a good impression of their technology and landed in a decision to procure a supplier with radio technology.
– We started with a pilot project where we procured about 550 meters. Our requirement was then that it should meet 99% SLA. Something that Aidon’s meter beat by a wide margin, Per Erik continues.
– After the pilot, we felt confident with the functionality of the new meters and the ability to add new features via remote upgrade. The great freedom of choice and flexibility of the product also made us confident that we would be able to handle future legal requirements without any problems, Sebastian adds.
Renewal of the complete metering system is a big task. How did you plan it and did it go as planned?
Sebastian says that they started installing in areas with the worst connectivity problems first.
– We noticed right away that Aidon’s new RF-based communication was much more robust and reliable compared to our previous PLC communication. And the up to 600 manual readings a month are now down to zero, which is of course a big cost saving. Reading a meter costs about SEK 500 per session, which means that we can now save up to about SEK 300,000 a month by having an autonomous system that takes care of it for us.
– The original idea was to follow a formal radio schedule, but we quickly noticed that radio communication in the urban area was very intuitive. That is, as long as the distances are not too long and the meters are close enough, the mesh communication is quite efficient.
You are the first DSO that is ready with next generation AMM. Is there anything you would do differently if you had to do the process again today?
– No, no big things. The project rolled on without any major problems. Our plan was to change one meter per hour as an average, and we ended up around there. We have also worked on a mobile app for the meter replacements, so we have avoided all paper handling in connection with the replacements. This has made the meter change very straightforward, says Sebastian.
What will be the next steps?
– We have just finalised the meter roll-out and don’t have any ready plans yet. We are well aware of the opportunities the new meters opens up for in the future, such as power quality measurements and the ability to detect disturbances on the grid, to name a few, Per-Erik concludes.
