Introduction:
In the ever-evolving landscape of utility management, the Middle East utility faced numerous challenges in managing their water and electricity meters efficiently. To address these challenges, the utility embarked on a groundbreaking journey to deploy an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) empowered by IoT gateways with edge computing capability and NB-IoT backhaul. This case study outlines their remarkable journey, highlighting key achievements and solutions.
Challenges Faced:
1. Diverse Meter Ecosystem: Managing a staggering 59 types of meters from multiple manufacturers. The utility's service area was populated with a diverse range of electricity and water meters, featuring 15 prominent brands, including Elster, Landis + Gyr, ABB, Iskra, ION, Actaris, Itron, Badger, Hydrus, Kronhe, Siemens, Kamstrup, Endress + Hauser, Hydrometer, and Euromag. This array of meter makes and models presented a complex integration challenge.
2. Multitude of Communication Protocols: Adding to the complexity, there were 11 different meter communication protocols in use, encompassing DLMS, Euridis, IEC 62056-21, MBus, Wireless MBus, ModBus, Pulse, ModBus/Pulse, Severn Trent, and RTU Logger. Each protocol had unique data transmission characteristics, necessitating a robust and adaptable communication infrastructure.
3. Resilient Communication Infrastructure: The utility needed a robust communication infrastructure that could withstand disruptions and ensure real-time data acquisition.
Solution:
To overcome these challenges, the utility implemented a comprehensive AMI solution, which included the following key elements:
1. IoT Gateways with Edge Computing: Deployed strategically across their service area, IoT gateways with edge computing capabilities were engineered to collect data from smart electricity and water meters on hourly intervals, reducing latency and minimizing central system load. This customization ensured a resilient and future-ready communication infrastructure.
2. NB-IoT Backhaul: Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) was chosen as the backhaul technology, offering efficient and cost-effective long-distance data transmission, ensuring reliable data retrieval from remote meters.
3. Customized Gateway Engineering:The utility engineered customized gateways capable of supporting up to three meter protocols simultaneously, ensuring flexible and efficient data acquisition, and creating a resilient communication infrastructure.
4. Intelligent Head End System: An intelligent head end system was implemented to manage all communication infrastructure for every electricity and water meter type. This system was designed to oversee all communication aspects of the diverse electricity and water meter types. It supported both northbound and southbound integrations, including MQTT, SFTP, CoAP, Rest API, Protobuf, NTP server, and more, facilitating seamless data flow and integration with other systems.
5. Firmware Over-the-Air and Network Management: The head end system included robust features for firmware over-the-air updates and network management, ensuring the continuous health and performance of the communication gateways.
Results:
The implementation of this comprehensive AMI infrastructure yielded outstanding results:
1. Real-time Data Acquisition: The utility could now acquire live data from electricity and water meters at hourly intervals, enabling precise insights into consumption patterns and operational efficiency.
2. Meter Ecosystem Integration: The AMI seamlessly integrated all 59 types of meters from diverse manufacturers, streamlining data collection processes.
3. Protocol Compatibility: Customized gateways supported all 11 meter communication protocols, guaranteeing compatibility with all meters, thereby facilitating comprehensive data collection.
4. Resilient Infrastructure: The combination of NB-IoT backhaul, customized gateways, and the head end system ensured a resilient communication infrastructure, minimizing data loss and downtime.
5. Scalability: Ultimately, this ambitious project led to the establishment of a resilient AMI that can support a staggering 1.2 million metering points. The utility could now acquire live data at hourly intervals from a diverse range of meters, manage them efficiently through the intelligent head end system, and seamlessly integrate the data into their existing infrastructure
Conclusion:
The implementation of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure with IoT gateways, NB-IoT backhaul, and a sophisticated head end system is transforming this utility's operations. It is not only conquering the challenges posed by a diverse meter ecosystem and multiple communication protocols but also laying the foundation for future innovation and scalability. With the ability to acquire, manage, and integrate data seamlessly, the utility equips itself to improve service delivery, optimize resource utilization, and provide a more reliable utility service to its customers, setting a shining example for the industry.
