AMI & AMR PROJECTS IN

JORDAN
E. FERAS AL-ASALI
Electrical Distribution Company
F.ASALI@EDCO.JO

Abstract
Two communication media between meter
and server are applicable in our company
EDCo Jordan, The target is to discuss
the advantages and dis-advantages of
using a such grid of AMR/AMI based on a
different communication media :

GPRS
PLC

History :
Automated meter reading (AMR) technology dawned primarily between the
mid-'80s and early 1990s. In the beginning, there were three primary options:

(1) walk-by/drive-by solutions.

(2) one-way, inbound systems.
(3) two-way, dial-up, phone-based solutions.
Walk-by/drive-by solutions are used still for AMR data collection where radio
frequency (RF) modules chirp their readings periodically and a device, either
handheld unit, picks up the data when nearby.
One-way, inbound systems involved programming meters to send in readings at
periodic ratestypically dailysometimes called bubble-up networks. These
used consumer phone lines, radio technology or one-way, legacy power line
carrier (PLC) signals transmitted over the utility's distribution lines.
Dial-up phone systems are straightforward and use a computer to dial modems
attached to electric meters, particularly at commercial accounts. A few of
these solutions have evolved, allowing adequate data transfer with modern
telephony technology, predominantly still used for small batches of meters
rather than entire service territories.

Introduction
Utilities now look at the deployment of
AMR/AMI systems to reduce the operating
costs, improve meter-reading accuracy,
eliminate manmade errors, and improve
efficiency through demand management.
Advanced metering can be implemented with
different levels of intelligence associated to
the meter. Typically three types can be
distinguished, in order of increasing
interaction level and feature contents.

Illustrations

AMR (automated meter reading) is a remote reading system based on an

advanced technology that permits utilities to read electronic meters over long
distances. Through AMR, the energy consumption can be read on an annual,
weekly, daily or on an hourly basis. Consumption and status data, such as time
stamps, are through various connection media being transmitted to a central
system for billing and analysis. The automatic data collection enables billing
based on real time consumption as opposed to an estimated consumption.

AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) refers to systems that measure, read and
analyses energy consumption. AMI systems can be defined as an extension of the
simpler AMR-system. The AMI always communication two-way and comprises the
whole range of metering devices, software, communication media, and data
management system.

AMM (automatic meter management) or smart metering is another expansion of

a remote reading system that includes the possibility of performing technical
measurements and functions and carrying out customer-oriented services.

AMR/AMI systems components

Electrical meter: An electronic device that measures

the amount of electrical energy supplied to a residence
or business. It is electrically fed and composed of
electronic controllers. It has an interface which allows
data to be transmitted from the remote terminal to the
central device.
Central office: Equipped with a system which includes
receivers, data concentrators, modems, and computers
that are able to store and to process received
information.
Communication system: A communication system
needs to be implemented in order to transmit data and
to control the different signals between the remote
device and the central office.

Challenges and Obstacles

before AMR & AMI:

Highly Person dependent.

Human errors cannot be avoided.
Accessibility of meters in rural/ Agricultural zones.
Energy Audits performed based on bill collection which
is highly inaccurate.
Billing done mainly on estimated/ monthly average
basis
Inability to monitor and control discrete loads
Billing cycle requires excessive time.
Meter data used only for billing, cannot help in analysis
like demand analysis, energy audit, pinpointing losses,
etc.

Smart meters solutions:

Real time Pricing: Customers are charged tariffs that vary over a
short period of time, hourly for example. It helps customers
control their consumption and helps utility providers to better
plan for the energy market. Provide an in-depth study of the real
time pricing.

Power quality measurement: The electric utility engineers need

more detailed readings than KWH so that they can efficiently
plan the network expansion and deliver a higher quality of
supply. Power quality involves the measurement of voltage sags,
swells, under and over voltages, harmonics distortion, voltage
and current imbalances, and record duration of each event.

Automated Billing: Once the metering data is available at the

utility company premises, billing, acknowledgement of received
payments, and power consumption reports can be fully
automated and made available to customers, on the web for
example.

Load management: This is another industrial area that will be

Remote Connect/Disconnect: The utility provider can

remotely and quickly configure the meter to enable
or disable energy to certain customers.
Outage notification: This offers an effective way to
improving response time. Liu et al. propose an
algorithm that involves two steps: outage locating
and outage confirmation through meter polling.

What AMR/AMI can offer is not limited to what have

been mentioned in above. Generally, with a two
communication medias , definitely enables many
sophisticated services . AMR/AMI network reliability
will be discussed a head

EDCO Projects in AMR/AMI

systems

1- AMR Project deboned on

a Power Line Carrier (PLC)

Introduction
The beginning of smart meters application was an
AMR with PLC which had took a place successfully
in our company EDCo as a pilot project. With
the load growth, high losses had been noticed in
our electrical grid of certain areas.
An experimental sample -Jordanian village- was
chosen where the losses exceeds 60%, the pilot
project of (250) single phase meter, (20) three
phase meter and (2) three phase meter CT
operated. EDCo diced to use Power Line Carrier
(PLC) for communication purpose to reduce any
capital or operational cost for this pilot project.

The PLC system consists of:

Meter Built-in PLC Module

Meter communicate with Concentrator
directly
Concentrator communicate with Master
Station

PLC system advantages, obstacles and regulations

PLC System advantages :

By using existing cable infrastructure PLC system
eliminates the need for installation and
maintenance of dedicated communication links.
Already every building or household is
connected to the electrical power grid and
moreover; every room has power line contact
points installed. Without doubt the extent of this
existing infrastructure cannot be matched by
any other telecommunication technologies that
are available today and PLC have many
international standard DLMS, IEC.

PLC system Obstacles:

As the electric power distribution lines were not originally
designed for communication purposes as a result they
exhibit highly variable and unpredictable levels of
channel noise, signal attenuation and distortion
Noise and disturbances (Major Obstacle):
Common causes of noise on the high voltage electrical
power networks include corona discharge, power factor
correction banks and circuit breaker operation. On the
low voltage network, much of this noise is filtered by
distribution transformers, so the most common
interference in low voltage domestic networks can be
attributed to the various household devices and office
equipment connected to the network.

Result
In our project PLC system with about 200 PLC
meters, it takes more than 24 Hours to read all
the data and sometimes we dont get any
reading from some meters (10-12%).

2-AMI Project deboned on

a GPRS

Introduction
A hazard area on the Jordan Valley itself where the losses exceeded 75%;
the regular meters were hanged up on the top of power transformers
suspended to a wooden pole. And this procedure was temporarily taken
to avoid customers easy reach and tampering (see Figure in next slide)
Despite of the above solution, it becomes also very difficult to retrieve the
required data without transformers switching off. EDCo decided to use
AMI system to settle down this case through the pilot project with AMI &
GPRS reducing all risks of PLC.
For the target project, (95) single phase meter, (225) three phase meter
and (60) three phase meter with CT operated were used supported by
AMI & GPRS.The price of AMI system is still at a level where it usually
cannot be applied widely to all customers. The price of AMI is mainly
determined by the costs of the hardware, the installation and the
communication infrastructure and the running cost. The cost issue plays
a key factor in replacing traditional metering system with AMI system.

Meter in metal box on the pole.

The GPRS system contents

Meter Built-in GPRS Module.

Communication area (GPRS with SIM
card).
The master system
Customer interface unit.

GPRS system advantages:

Highspeed.
Unlimited transmission range.
GPRS is very suitable for power
applications.
Low capital cost where we dont need
Consecrator for data collection nor
licenses when comparing with RF
technology.

AMR GPRS Disadvantage:

Covering GPRS network area depends on

Mobile phone operator.
Wireless communication method such as
GPRS high operational costs especially
for a long run projects

Conclusion
Table (1) provides a summary of the
attributes reach ability, costs, operator,
flexibility, reliability and suitability for
advanced metering applications for the
different communication means
discussed above.

Despite of some notes against AMI application

and communication media operational
costs especially on the third world area, its
highly expected to overcome all obstacles
in the coming years.
Once the communication media through GPRS
are being settled down , AMI system will be
a worldwide application.

Thanks For Listening