Johannesburg’s City Power will inform residents in the region through SMS when power outages happen.

By providing the free SMS service, users are effectively empowered to make demand side arrangements to use alternative electricity sources and experience the best reliable electricity supply cost effectively and at the same time avoid unnecessary conquential finacial losses.

The service solution was given to City Power a year before implementation by Pieter Henning, the innovator of the total mobile solution called SurePower.

With a well-sourced database, a more complete SurePower Service can be implemented in future.

The media announcement can be read at http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2009/0908191031.asp?S=IT%20in%20Government&A=ITG&O=FRGN

Registration for the service on a Cellphone: www.citypoweralerts.mobi

The service can be improved with recommendations of IEEE members, also commenting on similar smart solutions in other countries and programmes

By Peter Johnson, Vice President for Utilities within Alcatel-Lucent’s Services Business Group

The electricity industry is one of the few industries where unconstrained demand is starting to be actively discouraged.
The combination of rapidly increasing, more intense seasonal demand peaks with increasing pressure on infrastructure investment are causing the industry to look for ways of more intelligently managing demand.

Smart metering is increasingly being seen as a tool through which regulators and network operators will be able to shape electricity demand patterns in the future.
Smart metering will allow operators to educate and financially incent consumers to be more aware of their energy usage. Ultimately it could allow a limited level of control over non-critical load, thereby increasing the reliability of supply and asset utilization efficiency.

Introduction
The electricity industry is changing rapidly. The last decade has seen the rapid growth of distributed generation (mostly in the form of wind farms), demand peaks that are intensifying and increased pressure from stakeholders and regulators for asset efficiency. The result is that the electricity industry is one of the few sectors where unconstrained consumption is starting to be actively discouraged.

One of the tools being proposed to persuade users to be more conscious of their energy usage patterns is smart metering1. This new technology has already penetrated the factory and other large energy consumers. It is now finding its way into small enterprises and the home. This paper explores the drivers that have brought about this change in attitude to the metering of user energy consumption, what smart metering is intended to achieve and the possible elements for an implementation.

MARKET ENVIRONMENT
There are three primary influences on the operations of energy networks that are driving the need for smart metering. These are:

• The rapid growth in peak energy demand;
• The inherent inflexibility of the energy distribution infrastructure;
• The pressure from stakeholders and regulators for greater asset efficiency.

Peak Energy Demand
Even in quite temperate climates, there has been a marked increase in peak energy demand. In London, UK, the summer peak is growing at 2.6% per annum against an average growth of 1.4% per annum. In hotter climates the effect is even more marked. One distribution system operator in Australia is quoted as saying that 30% of its infrastructure operates for 2% of the year. This growth has been rapid. When the forward investment plans were being made even ten years ago, nobody would have foreseen growth of this magnitude. And the trend is for the peak to get taller and narrower, reflecting the sharp intensity of demand on the few hottest days of the year. In short, significant infrastructure investment is being demanded for an ever decreasing portion of the year.

Inflexible Infrastructure
By its very nature, electricity distribution networks are not readily configurable to rapidly changing demand patterns. Also the CAPEX required to implement such new infrastructure is significant.

Finally, there can be popular resistance to the construction of new electricity infrastructure, which is considered a social nuisance. As such, network planners have to be reasonably certain of forward demand into the medium-term before committing to such a significant investment. Unfortunately, today such certainty does not exist.

Asset Optimization
The lack of certainty of forward demand forecasts coincides with an increased pressure from stakeholders and regulators for all energy companies to increase their asset utilization. So, the traditional response to increasing demand, namely to invest in new infrastructure, is no longer viewed favorably, unless the business case is cogent. This forces the search for alternative mechanisms to address such peaks.

SMART METERING AS PART OF THE DRIVE FOR GREATER ENERGY EFFICIENCY
One of the conclusions that governments, regulators and network operators have reached is that the consumer needs to become more energy efficient. To achieve this, the market seems to moving in three phases:

• Educating the consumer
• Incenting the consumer
• Managing the consumer

Educating The Consumer
The pressure is on for utilities to give more information to consumers on their energy consumption. The objective is to appeal to the consumer to be more aware of the nature of their consumption patterns and of the consequences. This education process takes two forms:

• A real-time display showing consumption of the previous period, highlighting peaks and troughs in consumption, and
• Detailed information on consumption and carbon footprint with comparisons against the previous period plotted against some norm for that type of customer.

The intent is that consumers will be influenced to reduce their peak consumption.

However, research to date suggests that this is only effective where the consumer is already interested in this information. Only this type of customer is susceptible to the messages of such data.

Incenting The Consumer
Consequently we already see movements towards the next steps: incenting the consumer to adapt their energy consumption. This requires a more sophisticated approach to tariffing than has been possible thus far.

For example, by moving to multiple time-of-day tariffs, which can vary by day of week and by season, the customer can be persuaded to adapt consumption to lower tariffs. Figures 1 and 2 shows a potential tariff plan for a summer weekday and a winter weekday, respectively.

Winter Weekday Tariffs

Weekends and public holidays could have different profiles depending on season. Equally between season profiles are also possible. This is the sort of profile adopted by various operators and retailers (for example, the Ontario Energy Board in Canada).

Another example might be tariffing by instantaneous demand. Figure 3 shows a possible tariff structure for a home. The curve represents the instant demand made by the home: a morning peak, then the cut in of the air-conditioning during the day, reaching a peak in the evening that combines the effect of all electrical appliances running simultaneously; this then tails off as external temperatures cool and the household settles to evening activities.

The tariff regime shown is designed to encourage the smoothing of this demand. For example, by cutting the air-conditioning during the day when the house is unoccupied, or by moving some of the domestic tasks to later in the evening to benefit from lower costs. This sort of structure also reflects far more accurately the charges incurred by the distribution and retail companies themselves for whom incremental power becomes increasingly more expensive. These are just two examples of what could be applied.

It requires a change in measurement practice and it requires the types of technologies that have been long present in the cellular communications market: the real-time rating of consumption supporting more complex tariff regimes.

And just like the telecommunications market, this structure allows “special offers” to be created by energy suppliers (for example, a tariff holiday). In short, this requires smart metering: the combination of a smart meter and an intelligent meter data management system.

Controlling The Consumer
In the long-term, we can envisage distributors or energy retailers wanting to be able to incent customers to allow them to control non-essential demand. For example, in exchange for a favorable tariff, the customer would allow the distributor to regulate their air-conditioning in order to shed load at times of excessive demand. The consequences of reducing air-conditioning across all the offices and homes of a big city by just 1 degree would result in a significant reduction of load: perhaps enough to avoid power outages that some are already suffering in peak weather.

This is not a dream. The technology is ready. Domestic appliance manufacturers are starting to implement standard remote control protocols that would enable this sort of control. All that is required is the political will and a rollout of enabled smart meters.

WHAT SMART METERING CAN DELIVER
Smart metering has the capability to deliver the following features and benefits:

Recording Usage Data
Maintain data records of the usage within the meter at configured intervals for a set amount of time.

Remote Interval Meter Reading
Interrogating the meter usage data at configured intervals ranging from 15 minutes to every three months.

Remote One-Off Meter Reading
Interrogating the meter usage data on an ad-hoc basis.

Remote Meter Activation, Suspension, And Deactivation
The ability to configure a meter to be off (deactivated and not assigned to a customer account), to be on with a configured maximum capacity, and to be suspended (deactivated but remaining configured to a customer account).

Customer Information On Current And Historic Consumption
Providing a display unit (probably remotely from the meter itself). Equally this could be a web interface to the customer’s account.

Meter Data Management
Assembling and storing the data received from each customer, partitioning it by customer, by customer type, by geography, by retailer (if appropriate), etc.

Providing the statistics required to manage the service (for example, gross demand from a given geography by time over a given period, gross demand by customer type over a given period, etc.)

Formatting for transmission to the retailer (if appropriate), archive management.

Flexible Tariffing And Rating
Applying the tariff plan appropriate to that customer, customer type, retailer, etc. and creating the appropriate billing records for onward transmission to the customer.

Real-Time Tariffing And Rating
Applying the above in real-time. This is of great importance in the case of pre-paid metering.

Credit Limit Control
Implementing a rules-based decision tree when credit expires or a credit limit is reached dependent upon customer, customer type, retailer, etc.

Capacity Regulation
This can include the temporary reduction of power to a “social minimum” where credit becomes an issue or configuring the meter to suit the circumstances of the particular customer.

Loss Of Power Notification
In the case of power outages, the meter can transmit a “last gasp” that alerts the distributor to a failure in the network.

Remote Device Reading And Control
In the longer term, there is the ability to register remote devices in the premises, to read their configuration and, upon suitable authority, to regulate them. The example, cited above, of raising the temperature of air-conditioning is a typical application. Others could be the activation of other devices (for example, washing machines, when the lowest tariff threshold is reached).

Other Benefits
The implementation of smart metering has a number of other benefits:

• Reduced reliance on physical visits to customer premises;
• Reduced incidence of electricity theft;
• Simplified implementation of pre-paid energy, removing any need for physical interaction with the domestic meter;
• Speedy identification of outages leading to more rapid service repair and restoration.

Looking at the overall business case, ENEL in Italy, implemented a program of 30 million automatic remote reading meters. ENEL has invested 2B€ through the end of 2006 and has been reported as achieving 500M€ savings per annum.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED
Besides the meter themselves, there are four key elements that need to be considered:

• The access and backhaul
• The meter data management system
• The tariff management system
• Asset management system

These are represented in Figure 5.

There is no single access and backhaul solution, since the implementation will be dependent on a number of factors: population density, existing communications infrastructure, any Utelco activity or aspirations, etc. Often there is a mix of solutions, for example, wireless in urban areas with power line communications (BPL) in rural areas. Other types of access/backhaul network technologies that can be used include GSM/GPRS, WiMAX, meshedWiFi ( News – Alert) networks, use of existing broadband (DSL) connections, 870MHz unlicensed radio, Zigbee. Some of these communication mechanisms can allow only for one-way communication, but most of them are already prepared for two-way communication, which will ultimately enable the utility company not only to measure consumption but also to actively influence/control consumption.

The meter data management system is at the heart of the smart metering operation. The activities it undertakes are:

• Managing the collection of the metering data;
• Organizing the data by customer, by customer type, by geography, by retailer or any other criteria that is relevant;
• Ensuring the consistency and integrity of the data received and ensure its safekeeping;
• Managing the customer profile: the status of the customer, the meter rating, the tariff profile and any scheduled activities;
• Managing the configuration of the meter.

The tariff management system is another key element of any implementation since it is this system that enables the charging flexibility required to encourage consumers to change their energy consumption habits.

This is very similar in many respects to the charging engines developed for cellular mobile applications in the telecommunications market. The key elements are:

• The ability to handle multiple tariff options for the same class of customer;
• The ability to handle multiple account classes (for example, based on an individually contracted consumption profile) and account associations (for example, to link multiple meters into a single account for such things as holiday homes or support for aging parents);
• The ability to rate and calculate credit in real-time;
• The ability to react in real-time to credit anomalies (such as the expiration of pre-paid credit) according to rules set for that class of customer;
• The ability to allow retailers and individual consumers to interrogate on-line their own accounts securely.

The final element is the asset management system that allows the operator to keep track of all the different assets involved and their interconnection to form the smart metering network.

Alcatel-Lucent’s (News – Alert) skills lie in the design and integration of turnkey solutions pulling together these three elements and integrating with the customer premises meter.

CONCLUSION
Smart metering is seen as a key tool in the fight to flex customers’ energy demand profile. With the rapidly rising demand for energy, the tendency to sharp peaks of demand and the inflexibility of the underlying energy infrastructure, smart metering can offer utilities the means to influence customers’ consumption. By using a flexible meter data management system that allows utilities to implement flexible tariffs, the consumer can be incented to spread or reduce their demand profile.

At the heart of the smart metering solution is the meter data management system. This is the engine that will allow utilities to accurately measure, tariff and bill customers. Ultimately, it will allow utilities to control demand as and when this becomes acceptable.

Peter Johnson is Vice President for Utilities within Alcatel-Lucent’s Services Business Group, leading the company’s approach to this market segment.

TMCnet publishes expert commentary on various telecommunications, IT, call center, CRM and other technology-related topics. Are you an expert in one of these fields, and interested in having your perspective published on a site that gets several million unique visitors each month? Get in touch.
Edited by Greg Galitzine

http://next-generation-communications.tmcnet.com/topics/enterprise/articles/43560-smart-metering-enabling-greater-energy-efficiency.htm

SureXpect   

Who are affected:
All citizens who are using electricity as a source of energy, in situations where their Power Utility company does not have eternal reserve electricity capacity margins.

Of the 9 billion inhabitants on earth, at least six billion are afforded electricity to improve their lifestyle.

Three billion account holders with their four billion dependants pay to have electricity, made available from an energy source that is presented free to the earth.

SureXpect (SX) is a simple electronic warning device that will “call to action” Electricity Users (EU), by advising them of the probability of a change in style of electricity distribution.

SX serves all people, be it electricity account holders or casual travelling users visiting an area, where electricity is fed by a Circuit Breaker (CB) controlled by a Power Distributor (PD).

SX was also invented by Pieter Henning, who designed SurePower, an advisory service, providing power distribution notices to users by a Mobile device application.

Where are they located:
SX is based on a similar product SurePower, that is defined at

http://www.netsquared.org/projects/surepower-utilising-mobile-communications-optimise-utility-distribution

and was offered to the USAID Development Challenge as a mobile device application; with the difference that SX is attached permanently to an Electrical Supply point or plugged in at a functioning electrical outlet, where the user is affected.

The device advises EUs normally when they are present at the location where they are using electricity, but a complementary add-on will be provided where the similar alerts are provided by a mobile chipset to a programmed mobile device end-user.

Although the practice of pushing alert information to EUs is defined with this service; the PD may also implement a premium eMail client service operating on a similar Power Line Communication (PLC) pull technology; that will receive location based information from the client from a user point of view.

Why does the problem exist:

Owing to the present lack of alerts and communication between PDs and EUs in a specific area of electricity use, unnecessary consequential problems with effective electricity supply are created, that can be minimized with information at the disposal of PDs that can be planned to be shared with EUs.

In South Africa, the country of residence of the innovator, Pieter Henning, the practice exists where the PD publishes expected Load Shedding rosters in the media.   This practice to advise defined geographical areas, is meant to act as information for EUs to expect load shedding to be effected in their precinct.  Owing to grave power supply deficiencies envisaged in South Africa, this is a measure expected to be offered until 2030, when major new investments in power generation plants will be available.  With the planned blackouts, punitive and increased tariffs, quota rationing and utilization of alternative energy sources the country will have to make do.

Similar procedures are followed globally, owing to the current phenomenon of lower electricity supply margins and ineffective application of resources, but almost all solutions proved extremely unsatisfactory.

With basic predictive analytical techniques the PD in association with the Electricity Generation Utility company can handsomely forecast electricity reserve margin problems in a specific area.

Although few countries have the practice of users claiming financial damages for delinquent services, the institution of a similar service where the PD resolves to forecast with information available to them, will be seen as fair practice.

What type of solution is needed:
The EU requires a simple prediction whether a published Load Shedding Roster might be effected similar to a weather forecast.

SX provides the following counseling solutions:

The advice alerts would be valid for all Electrical Outlets fed by the Circuit Breaker at the local area sub-station.

The device will have the following components to provide an effective solution:

1. Low power lights to indicate various alert probabilities.

The visual indicator (multi-colored LEDs) will give an indication of an expected state of electricity supply

Yellow from Green:  the existing supply of electricity is moving into a problem situation, with an alert request to the user, to reduce electricity consumption to a minimum.

Red from Yellow:  the PD expects to load shed the electricity supply affected by the Circuit Breaker within a given period.  This alarm will enable the EU to prepare to use alternative energy sources, reschedule operational plans in order to attempt to arrange the least disruption in lifestyle and avoid major consequential losses.

In the power outage period that follows, all electrical outlets must be regarded as potentially live.

Yellow from Red:  the electricity reserve power has improved and the PD expects power to be reinstated, but .the EU should use electricity as sparingly as possible.

Green from Yellow:  the delivery point is provided with electricity and secondary appliances may be activated.

2. An audio alarm that will attract the attention of the user that a change in status has occurred.

3. Touch-sensitive switches that will operate the device.

4. Dimmed steering lights will allow users to find their way in the event of a power break, and when it is dark.

All components of the device can be solid-state with a small backup or rechargeable battery and should be able to be produced for less than $10.00.  The cost is so insignificant, that at least one device may be provided gratis to all users, to obtain good public relations with the users.

The information signal is injected by the PD in a similar manner at a sub-station or at the remote control desk, as when Smart-metering or Ripple geyser control is applied by the PD.   Power Line Communication (PLC) is already accepted technology used by PDs to conduct SCADA communications on Powerlines.

The IEEE should endorse the product concept that can either be a plugin or a fixed addition to an approved supply outlet plug.

When is a solution needed:
The device must inform an EU, if possible, before the anticipated switch in electricity supply occurs.

With this application the PD can involve an EU, to make alternative plans.   This interaction with the EU will vastly improve the effective usage of available electricity, especially during the daily the peak demand periods.

This interaction also provides better public relations with the EUs in order that improved Demand Side Practices can be instituted and maintained.

When the EU travels, the mobile user that needs to plan their operations that is critically affected by the status of electricity supply, may receive similar alerts with the SurePower Mobile Device application on a cellphone at http://www.iwe.param.mobi/, whilst away from home or their place of work and be made aware of alerts applicable to a location that they plan to visit.

Tags: Forecast, electricity, supply, outage, crisis, management, alternative, energy, source, power distribution, solution, power outlet, reserve margin, savings, consequential losses

Innovator: Pieter Henning hennings@mweb.co.za

© Henning 2009 Submitted to IEEE; Reliable Electricity Challenge on 30 Dec’08

12 October 2007 – South Africans have been urged to get into gear and join Public Transport Month by ditching single-person car journeys and finding more environmentally friendly ways of commuting.

The message comes from the National Energy Efficiency Agency (NEEA), which said single occupancy car journeys were an inefficient and environmentally damaging misuse of fuel, and contributed to traffic misery on the country’s busiest roads.

Barry Bredenkamp, the NEEA’s Operations Manager, called on private car owners to consider joining car share clubs, and where possible using public transport to improve fuel economy.

“Our network is not as sophisticated as more developed countries’, but public transport does not end with buses and trains.

“Finding someone going in the same direction to and from work and sharing a car with them will go a long way to reducing congestion, and result in the far more efficient use of fuel,” he said.

Bredenkamp added that increased public transport produced all-round savings – it saved commuters’ money, it saved time by reducing congestion, and it helped save the environment by reducing the amount of Carbon Dioxide released in exhaust fumes.

Gauteng Provincial Government estimates that congestion costs the business hub of Africa one billion Rand per year in working hours lost and reduced productivity.

Public Transport Month runs during October, and is now in its third year.

The month aims to showcase developments in the transport network and encourage non-users to take up public transport.

For car-share schemes in your area, visit www.getalift.co.za and follow the links.

NOTES

The NEEA was formed from a directive from the Department of Minerals and Energy in 2006.

It was created as part of a broader strategy to reduce overall energy demand by 12 per cent by 2015.

The NEEA is a division within the Central Energy Fund – an organization set up to find the energy solutions that will meet the future needs of South Africa’s growing economy.

The overarching objectives of the NEEA are:

• The prioritisation and recommendation of energy efficiency and DSM projects to be undertaken in the country.
• Identification and development of key strategies, to address the growing demand for energy in the country, including gas, electricity, liquid petroleum, etc.
• Stimulate areas neglected in terms of energy efficiency in the past, such as the transport sector.
• Develop and implement comprehensive annual ‘Energy Efficiency and DSM’ awareness campaigns, to assist the general public in making wise choices when purchasing energy-consuming equipment and appliances.
• Oversee the integration and co-ordination of training in energy efficiency currently undertaken by various stakeholders in the country. The Agency will also facilitate skills transfer, capacity building and the creation of additional jobs in the field of energy conservation.
• Oversee the integration and co-ordination of training in energy efficiency currently undertaken by various stakeholders in the country. The Agency will also facilitate skills transfer, capacity building and the creation of additional jobs in the field of energy conservation
• Co-operate with persons, associations and institutions undertaking energy efficiency programmes in other countries, to ensure that international ‘best practices’ are adopted and applied in South Africa.

http://www.savingenergy.co.za/

Eskom incompetence cost R50bn

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Electricity watchdog puts shocking figure on Eskom’s incompetence

ESKOM’S load-shedding bungle earlier this year cost the economy R50-billion.

Work together to save power and cut out the waste – that is the message Deputy President Baleka Mbete had for South Africans when she launched an energy saving campaign at the Presidential Guest House on Tuesday.

“All of us must act together to reduce our unnecessary and inefficient use of energy… which is… a lifeblood for our society and our economy,” she said.

“The only way to make this strategy possible, however, is for all of us to work together to conserve electricity.”

Mbete said an immediate way South Africans could help was through simple behavioural changes to halt unnecessary power use, or even wastage, of electricity.

Eskom, the national power utility, needed to increase power savings to allow maintenance of electricity plants in January.

For its part, government had refitted 4 000 buildings, saving what the deputy president said was R56-million a year in electricity costs.

“For businesses, we are providing free technical support to identify ways to save electricity. We are also exploring tax incentives for more energy efficient production,” she added in a speech prepared for delivery.

“For households, we have provided, through Eskom, a subsidy for solar water heaters and the distribution of energy-efficient light bulbs.”

Government was also trying to “re-shape” electricity tariffs to encourage more efficient electricity usage.

Government planned to work with civil society, churches, organised business and labour to save power and allow society to benefit from a safe and security supply of electricity.

“We are all in this together – reliant on one another – and need to make every watt count.” – Sapa

By Sinegugu Ndlovu

Eskom has warned of unplanned power cuts if people fail to step up power-saving measures as the power utility embarks on its summer power maintenance period.

The maintenance programme is already in full swing in anticipation of the next winter season.

The programme involves maintenance of Eskom’s entire infrastructure, including transition lines and power stations.

Eskom said while it had tried to ensure supply was uninterrupted during the cold winter months, it would conduct maintenance in summer.

Some units had already been shut down for repairs and the process would continue on a rotational basis. The possibility of power cuts would remain until April next year.

“This means that the chance of load-shedding will increase,” said Eskom spokesperson Fani Zulu.

He said Eskom operated with a low reserve margin and called on people to cut down on electricity usage.

“People should cut their use by 10 percent because if they don’t, it will add to the already low reserve margin, which will result in load-shedding.”

Zulu said people had become lackadaisical about power saving following a power cut-free winter. He said while the electricity grid remained stable, the reserve margin remained low, placing a strain on the supply.

“As long as we do not address that, we remain vulnerable. The reserve margin is still low and we need to save. If everyone pushes for the 10 percent power saving, Eskom will be able to build its reserve margin and continue supplying power, even when systems unexpectedly trip,” he said.

Zulu said that summer had its own consumption dynamics, with people using air conditioners.

Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer Gugu Mazibuko said the prospect of load-shedding was worrying, especially if it happened during peak trading in December.

“We can’t just live with the knowledge that power cuts could happen at any time; we need a schedule in terms of exact dates,” said Mazibuko

Minerals and energy department spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said power-saving issues were high on the agenda of the last electricity stakeholder advisory council meeting.

The present eThekwini Municipality load-shedding schedule would be used for Durban in the event of power cuts.

• • This article was originally published on page 2 of The Mercury on October 09, 2008

Flicker pictures

http://gcmcknight.webng.com/Surepower/

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