
News articles 27.04.2022
Imatran Seudun Sähkö takes a step towards AMR 2.0
The Finnish DSO Imatran Seudun Sähkö (ISS) renews its energy metering system with Aidon as its partner. Nearly ten years’ cooperation continues, and after the renewal the company’s energy metering will be handled entirely with technology delivered by Aidon.
Starting in May, about a quarter of ISS’s meters will be replaced with new devices delivered by Aidon. The project is a continuation of the cooperation started in 2013 when the company implemented Aidon Gateware head-end system and installed around 18,000 Aidon meters for its customers. The previously installed system continues to coexist with the new solution.
The renewal project now starting comes with new features such as registration of 15-minute series consumption data, real-time electricity consumption monitoring via the meter’s standardised HAN interface, and even more accurate information about short power outages and other disruptions, such as neutral wire faults.
New technology, new service model
While the meters are being replaced, PLC technology – which utilises the power grid for communication – is replaced with radio-based communication. In the radio-based Aidon RF solution the meters autonomously form a local micro network to deliver data to a master meter equipped with a 4G connection, which resends the data on to the head-end system.
– Our electricity network area here near the eastern border of Finland is somewhat challenging in terms of mobile network connectivity. With the RF-based solution, we are able to establish a connection for meters even in places where the mobile network is weak, says Esko Heikinheimo, responsible for metering at ISS.
For reading the metering data provided by the new devices, the company chose a new operating model in which the reading system is provided as a cloud-based ACloud service by Aidon. In this SaaS model, Aidon is responsible for the availability of the service, as well as system maintenance and information security.
– The current trend is that system platforms are less and less often managed by the user organisations themselves. We also want to outsource our own responsibilities. When we purchase the service, we always have a system which is up-to-date regarding information security and other requirements. Our metering service team and supporting functions use the system for monitoring the reading and managing possible deviations and ad hoc jobs such as connecting or disconnecting electricity remotely, Heikinheimo says.
Alongside the reading system, ISS has Aidon One in extensive use. Aidon One gathers metering data as well as customer, network and metering point information into a map-based view. Installation planning of new meters and the related work orders will also be handled using Aidon One.
– Cooperation with Aidon has been smooth and that is a good basis to continue towards the new project and installation of new devices, Heikinheimo says.