News

A pioneering new project could put Guernsey Electricity at the forefront of technology as the world’s first power company to switch to fully automated meter reading (AMR).

The new technology has been successfully trialled in a ground-breaking local pilot study. More than 2,000 meters are already in operation, and Guernsey Electricity now plans to roll-out the system island-wide over the next four to five years.

The contract will be signed next month, and the company will then begin installing new meters in more than 25,000 local homes and businesses.

Bob Beebe - Metering and Protection Manager with the new AMR meters

At present only Italy has similar plans to have AMR for every customer, but this is unlikely to be in operation before Guernsey Electricity’s system.

Guernsey Electricity managing director Ian Watson said the new technology will provide the potential to offer new services, and enable the company to manage its network more effectively.

‘This technology is excellent news for customers and more than pays for itself over a relatively short period,’ he said.

Guernsey Electricity metering and protection manager Bob Beebe said that once the new system is complete, staff will no longer have to visit a customer’s premises to read their meter. Instead, billing information will be sent directly to the company’s central computer system, making estimated accounts a thing of the past.

However the system will provide other benefits for customers.

‘This whole project is focussed on providing a better service to our customers. It will improve reliability and efficiency, and offer much more convenience,’ he said.

‘In the longer term, the information that we are able to gather could be used to offer new services that further benefit customers. For instance we can monitor their daily energy usage, and enable them to view their consumption patterns on- line.’

Guernsey Electricity will be able to monitor and control the new meters remotely. This will allow the company to carry out many operations that currently require access to the customer’s premises directly from its headquarters. These include new connections, tariff changes, final readings and disconnections.

Mr Watson said: ‘We are well aware that a lot of our customers lead busy lives, which often makes it difficult for us to get access to their property. They‘ve also come to expect a high quality service from us, which in this day and age does not include estimated bills or intrusive visits from our staff to carry out simple, routine operations.’

The system will also improve reliability and efficiency, with faults in meters or underground mains cables detected earlier and repaired quicker.

Although the billing process will be automated, customers will still be able to pay bills in all the normal ways – by post, on the Internet, via direct debit, or in person at the Northside headquarters.

Successful trial proves benefits of AMR

Automated Meter Reading (AMR) will provide a much-needed replacement for the island’s ageing metering equipment.

The company has estimated it would need to spend nearly £1 million over the next five years simply to maintain the old equipment. Instead it is investing £2.1 million to install the new AMR system, which uses ‘intelligent’ electronic meters.

This will reduce the company’s operating costs by an estimated £150,000 a year compared to the current manual metering system. Guernsey Electricity metering and protection manager Bob Beebe said it was a cost-effective solution, and the savings would more than repay the initial investment.

‘We could spend nearly £1 million maintaining the existing equipment without getting any of the customer benefits and subsequent savings AMR is going to deliver. When you look at it in that light, you can see what an excellent long-term investment this is for the island,’ he said.

Electronic meters have been developed over the last 20 years, and are increasingly being used across Europe. Mr Beebe said they are more accurate and can incorporate more features than the traditional electromechanical equivalent, with its characteristic spinning dial.

Currently most Guernsey Electricity customers still have electromechanical meters, many of which are more than 25 years old. The ‘Cyclocontrol’ equipment that is usually installed alongside them, which sets the tariff, is also obsolete.

These will all now be replaced over the next four to five years.

Mr Beebe said the pilot study, which began in 2002, had enabled the company to resolve any technical issues before planning the wider roll-out.

The trial involved more than 2,000 electronic meters. Integrated control systems were also installed to manage and monitor the new equipment, and enable information to be downloaded into the company’s central billing system.

Guernsey Electricity also developed a graphical user interface, which allows operators to view the status of the meter network at any time, right down to individual meters. This now forms part of the fully integrated system, which went live last June.

Replacing all the remaining old meters will be the biggest element of the roll-out phase. To enable full coverage, special equipment will also be required at nearly two thirds of the island’s 360 electricity substation. These provide an important link in the AMR system, as they relay information between the automated meters and Guernsey Electricity.

Information is exchanged between the meters and substation via the low voltage power cable connection. By spreading the AMR trial around the island, the pilot study had shown that the technology worked with both new and old mains cables.