Advanced MeteringInfrastructure Overview

National Smart MeteringSteering Committee

21st January 2009

2

AMI Technologies

• Low-Voltage Power-line Carrier (DLC)

• High-Voltage Power-line Carrier (PLC)

• Low power mesh radio

• WiMAX

• BPL

• Point to Point

Dis

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AM

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Home Area Network

HAN

Communications Backhaul

• NextG/3G cellular/GPRS

• PSTN

• Satellite

• WiMAX

• Fibre Optic

• Private Networks

High Level Advanced Metering Architecture :HAN / LAN / WAN

Low-power wirelessmesh network

DC

AMI Local Area Network

LAN

AMI meter

Data Concentrator

Communicates with manyhundreds of meters

Wide Area Network

WAN

DC

NMS

Network Management Systemto control AMI comms

In-home Display (IHD)

Intelligent Appliances

SmartThermostats

3

Program Status

• People

– 140+ FTEs involved in program across business in

2008

– 2nd Phase of mobilisation in progress

• Cornerstone Business System Projects

Underway

– Capability to support the AMI deployment

• Works Management, Field data capture, meter exchange

– Transformation of operational business process;

• System scaling, meter data management, network billing

• Contract Finalisation

– AMI Technology

– Meters

– Field Force

4

Challenges & Opportunities

• Successfully transitioningcustomers to AMI

– Meter rollout

– New tariffs, interval data

– Effective disputemanagement

– Enhanced relationships

• Coordinated & consistentapproach betweendistributors and retailers

• Broader stakeholdercommunication

– Government / Regulators

– Media

• A Program not a Project

– One of the business’s largestundertaking

• Uncertainty

– Regulatory framework

– Scope

– Schedule

• Industry Cooperation & Coordination

• Controlling Cost

Program

5

Challenges & Opportunities

• Emerging technologies,functionality & BusinessCases

• Vic one of the first movers

• New players

• Technology interoperability& openness

Significant Global Activity in AMI Space

Electricity Automatic Meter Reading Project

Gas Automatic Meter Reading Project

Water Automatic Meter Reading Project

Electricity Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project

Electricity Advanced Metering Infrastructure Trial

Policy Announcement

Specification Published

Technology evolution

• Multiple end-end process re-design

• New systems andenhancements

– Multi-year lead times withemerging scope requirements

– Phased implementation

• Phenomenal amounts of data tomanage and store

Business System Transformation

6

Vic Technology Trials

Trials Working Group was established in May 2006 to coordinateAMI technology trials

Trials Purpose:

• Confirm that available AMI technologies at the time couldsupport the envisaged AMI functionalities in Victoria underlocal environmental conditions

• Allow distributors to identify technologies relevant to theirnetwork area

• Identify potential vendors

• Improve cost understandings

Working Group Terms of Reference

• Minimise duplication, time & cost across distributors

• Ensure comparability of trials of different technologies

• Maximise sharing of learnings

• Ensure uniform reporting of results

• Vic andInterstate DBs

• Retailers

• Vic & FederalGovt

• EssentialServicesCommission

• NEMMCO

• ConsumerGroups

Participants &Observers:

7

Vic Distributor TechnologyTrials

Characteristics

6 VendorsLV power-linecarrier

3 VendorsMesh Radio

2 VendorsHV power-linecarrier

TrialsTechnology

Note: Retailers also contributed information relating to commercial cellular networks (GSM/GRPS) trials

8

Trials Key Learnings(trials conducted across 2007)

• General

– Technologies, solutions and Vendorcapability were still emerging

– Long lead times to execute trials

– Confidentiality of vendor informationkey issue for coordinated trials

• High-Voltage Powerline carrier

– Concerns regarding limitedcommunications bandwidth &headroom for emerging HANrequirements

– Potential technical issues relating tointerference to electricity network

• Low Voltage Powerline Carrier

– Varying performance across vendors

– Concerns regarding limitedcommunications bandwidth &headroom for emerging HANrequirements

• Mesh Radio

– Sufficient communications capabilityto meet functional requirements

• GPRS

– Sufficient communications capabilityto meet functional requirements

Complete trials report available: www.dpi.vic.gov.au