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Johannesburg’s smart meter implementation programme: …

24th AMEU Technical Convention 2013 12124thAMEUT echnicalConvention2013 Most utilities are experiencing various problems ranging from poor revenue collection, capacity constraints, electricity theft and poor customer awareness regarding proper energy usage. South Africa has limited alternatives to electricity, which makes it the main energy source in most industrial and domestic environments. Economic growth mainly depends on the availability of electricity and with the unprecedented rate of development in the city of johannesburg , according to the 2011 South African census [8], the population has grown by 37% over the past ten years. This is attributable to international and national migration and requires the city to continuously expand infrastructure to ensure reliability of supply.

City Power’s smart metering programme Smart metering is a prerequisite for any effective demand response or demand-side management programme. A smart meter is ... Johannesburg’s smart meter implementation programme: from concept to reality by Sicelo Xulu, City Power

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Transcription of Johannesburg’s smart meter implementation programme: …

1 24th AMEU Technical Convention 2013 12124thAMEUT echnicalConvention2013 Most utilities are experiencing various problems ranging from poor revenue collection, capacity constraints, electricity theft and poor customer awareness regarding proper energy usage. South Africa has limited alternatives to electricity, which makes it the main energy source in most industrial and domestic environments. Economic growth mainly depends on the availability of electricity and with the unprecedented rate of development in the city of johannesburg , according to the 2011 South African census [8], the population has grown by 37% over the past ten years. This is attributable to international and national migration and requires the city to continuously expand infrastructure to ensure reliability of supply.

2 Alternative energy sources are still limited and very expensive. As the world s non-renewable energy resources continue to deplete, there is an increasing need to protect them and produce renewable sources of energy. There is also a need for systems to distribute this energy via an intelligent and efficient energy distribution system, thus the birth of the term smart grid as illustrated in Fig. smart grid offers significant benefits for both utility companies and their consumers. For utility companies, it offers the ability to distribute energy more effectively and efficiently and to disconnect services for non-payment remotely as part of the credit control process. For consumers, it would enable them to get real-time information of their energy consumption, and with that information manage their loads accordingly to lower their utility bills.

3 In order to move towards the smart grid, it is necessary to replace prevalent electromechanical electricity meters used to measure power consumption with advanced meters smart meters . smart meters enable various applications required by a smart grid [5].City Power s smart metering programmeSmart metering is a prerequisite for any effective demand response or demand-side management programme . A smart meter is an advanced electronic device which identifies consumption in detail, and which might be able to load profile data and implement complex time-of-use tariffs, and even measure quality of supply. These meters may be connected to some form of automatic meter reading system (AMR) and have the ability to communicate with the local utility for monitoring and billing purposes.

4 smart meters on their own might make marvelous ornaments for an electricity panel with cute displays and flashing lights, but are merely expensive replacements for simple electro-mechanical meters . In order for smart meters to be of any practical use, they have to be integrated into a comprehensive smart metering system which involves much more than simply putting a clever meter on a customer s wall or distribution panel, even if it does have a high-tech modem of the most critical components of any smart metering system, and one that distinguishes it from a simple AMR system, is the ability to communicate directly with the customer. It is vital that customers see the connection between their lifestyle (in the case of domestic users) or business processes (in the case of commercial and industrial users), what they are paying for electricity, and how this affects the overall state of the electricity supply grid, particularly in times of crises.

5 City Power s smart metering strategy: the need for changeCity Power at a glanceCity Power is a municipal owned entity, its sole shareholder is the City of johannesburg . City Power s vision is to be a world class electricity utility . The utility has over 460 000 customers segmented in the following way: Large power users (LPU), which account for approximately 1% of the city's population and contribute over 60% of the total revenue. Prepaid customers, which account for approximately 62% of the population and contribute less than 10% of the total revenue. Conventional domestic and business customers, which account for approximately 37% of the population and contribute over 30% of the total Power has annual revenues of R13,8-billion, employs 1700 people, is the only utility in Africa that holds three ISO johannesburg s smart meter implementation programme : from concept to realityby Sicelo Xulu, City PowerAs municipalities struggle with revenue collection, the issue of accurate billing and credit control is becoming more and more important.

6 This calls for intelligent systems to help the billing team to minimise billing errors and to cope with the volume of additional customers coming online on daily basis. This paper outlines the approach adopted by City Power, a johannesburg municipal owned entity, to address current challenges as part of the smart grid 1: Block diagram of a smart grid solution. 122 24th AMEU Technical Convention 201324thAMEUT echnicalConvention2013accreditations (9000, 14001 and 18001), and is the first utility in Africa to have undertaken the smart meter deployment in this the change to smart metering now?The smart metering deployment programme is designed to respond to specific challenges faced by the utility and the city of johannesburg . It is anticipated that reducing the non-technical losses will allow the utility to see a return on investment within the first five years of operational life of the smart metering solution.

7 The solution is not only focused on financial aspects but also on the urgent need to ensure an improved service is delivered to its customers taking into consideration the most critical concerns: Risk of criminal activity when they need to allow strangers into their homes. Cost of electricity will only increase and they have limited visibility of their own usage patterns. The city and the utility do not have correct billing information and the so-called billing crisis needs to be resolved. How the city will cater for the renewable energy market when the grid is not ready to incorporate respond to these challenges, the utility has designed six-point plan, which has resulted in a foundation for the smart metering deployment programme , the six pillars of the plan are as follows:Pillar no.

8 1: Split prepaymentProposed solution: customers consuming <1000 kWh/month: To be converted to split prepaid meters with bidirectional communication. Installation of independent load management controllers, where necessary. Installation of protective structures, ground and pole mounted. Installing bulk metering for intake points as check meters . Installation of capacitor banks in identified no. 6: Confirmation of distribution losses and direct costsProposed solution: establishment of a dedicated team to manage metering : Establishment of an energy management back office. Establishment of a revenue protection response team (to deal with bypass/faulty meters etc.). Introduction of energy champions to provide energy service to large power strategic placement and overviewStrategic placementThe pyramid in Fig.

9 3 describes how City Power intends to evolve to a smart grid utility in the portfolio of programmes currently being undertaken by the utility. The areas in green pertain to the smart meter implementation programme , the areas in red pertain to other related projects and programmes being run within City Power, while the areas in orange show the enhanced capabilities the city will have towards broader implementation of the smart grid ( solar geysers, substation automation, etc.). It is therefore clear that the plan sees the smart meter implementation as a foundation of the longer term strategy, and the city and its citizens should see this programme in a 20-year overviewCity Power is managing the process of programme management by virtue of managing successful programmes (MSP), an international best practice.

10 The programme contains work being done by numerous contractors and service providers together with City Power. The service providers have been grouped according to various projects and activities into the listed high-level components for better control. Each of these report into the steering committee on a weekly basis and they: Have underlying structures. Have numerous intricate and detailed components to deliver. Are being managed by project and team high-level programme overview is depicted in Fig. metering programme : organisational impact and benefitsThe utility envisions a holistic, fully integrated energy ecosystem in which smart metering Installation of remote meter monitoring systems, equipped with the back no.


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