Town in Austria installing smart metering

July 7, 2014 - Utilities worldwide look towards smart metering and the further developments in the technical and economic fields of smart grids. In particular, the utilities are interested in the advantages of smart metering and how they will benefit from these advantages in their operating and business procedures.

In the small town of Ybbs an der Donau in Austria, they will know soon – together with Telekom Austria Group as main contractor, Kamstrup is realizing the first complete smart metering project for the regional supplier of electric energy, E-Werk Wüster. From the end of 2014, the electricity consumption of all 3,700 households will be measured by smart meters with wireless technology.

Consumer access to energy data
The utility is motivated by the automization and simplification of the reading and billing processes. But the utility is not just looking for a more rational method of billing its customers, it is also looking into the future for ways to optimize the grid and secure a stable supply in a rapidly changing energy landscape.

The smart meters are read remotely whereby the manual – and often highly time-consuming and ineffective – reading of the meters in the single households is avoided. The fully automated reading of hourly consumption data results in a picture of the consumption patterns on the basis of which the utility can introduce time-based tariffs and in this way shave peaks. The remote reading data also ensures correct and reliable billing reducing the number of inquiries from customers significantly.

In addition, the smart meters deliver large amounts of data such as voltage quality information and notifications to the utility providing far better possibilities for monitoring the grid and reacting early to any problems and of optimizing it.

Also the residents of Ybbs an der Donau will benefit from the remote reading of their meters. They will have access to their own data via an encrypted web portal at any time and can follow their consumption in detail. With this information, it is possible for any individual to reduce his electricity consumption and thus also save money.

Synergy in an ecosystem of partners
Telekom Austria heads the project management and has created the ecosystem of partners to ensure that the utility gets a very high-performing solution. Telekom Austria is responsible for the whole connectivity of the system and the interface towards the customer, including data communication and IT services. Kamstrup delivers the smart meters and the radio mesh technology. According to Bernd Liebscher, Managing Director of Telekom Austria Group M2M GmbH, this is an optimal partnership constellation supporting the customer ideally. The synergetic benefits of the partnership are significant: “Telecommunication and energy are two very different cultures, but in the smart metering field, they are mutually very beneficial. In addition, we find Kamstrup to have a great ability and willingness to enter into such cross-industry cooperation,” Bernd Liebscher says.

Wireless infrastructure secures a high-performing system
For Telekom Austria, especially the wireless communication of the meter infrastructure was decisive: “Kamstrup‘s radio mesh system fits optimally into our communication infrastructure consisting of mobile phone and fixed-line networks,” Bernd Liebscher says. Wireless communication is characterized by being independent of the condition of the electricity grid. No broken or noisy communication lines or electromagnetic disturbances interfere with the communication, and thus EW Wüster can look forward to high reading performance with a fully automated smart metering system.

In addition to this first complete rollout there are several pilot projects already installed and planned in Austria.  

Kamstrup serves energy companies and utilities with innovative metering solutions for electricity, heat, cooling, water and natural gas. The OMNIA Suite is Kamstrup’s all-comprising Smart Grid platform with smart meters, communication infrastructure, meter data management system and network management. Kamstrup smart metering systems are installed worldwide securing grid optimization, fair billing and an efficient use of energy. Kamstrup was founded in 1946 and has representations in more than 60 countries.

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