As one of the most advanced countries in Europe when it comes to digitalization in the energy sector, Finland has adopted a national data hub to centralize information exchange to simplify and speed up daily operations among consumers and grid participants. Kajave Oy is employing the Landis+Gyrs Datahub connector service to transfer electricity consumption data into this information exchange, thus enabling secure, instantaneous access for consumers and grid participants.
Smart meter rollouts are complex projects that impact utility operations from billing to customer services, and from IT operations to network management. Whether it is a first-time installation, a second wave implementation, or a transformational upgrade, building an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is a journey. Here are some of the top considerations when building your AMI ecosystem.
Energy used to flow one way down the value chain. Power plants generated power, high-voltage lines transmitted it to your neighborhood substations, and wires from poles brought it home. All of this happened behind a meter, with consumers only ever engaging when using electricity or paying a utility bill. They knew nothing of how they got their energy let alone do anything about it. However, this is beginning to change.
Communication is a core component of any smart-grid or AMI implementation. Depending on application use cases, geography, rural/urban areas or existing infrastructure however, a grid operator may choose PLC, mesh or cellular communications. With an increasingly diverse and active consumer base that now includes prosumers, electric vehicle charging, renewables and more, how can utilities ensure that all these segments are served without disrupting their AMI?
Power and quality. Should be familiar words to all of us. But why have I written them here like this, together? Is there something special about them? According to surveys, the cost of poor power quality is over 150 billion euros a year to European business. So, power quality may not be your core business, but your core business is affected by power quality.
In the past two years, the transformation of the energy industry has accelerated. We caught up with Bodo Zeug, Executive Vice President and Head of Landis+Gyr EMEA, and discussed with him about the megatrends in the energy sector, how they affect utilities and how Landis+Gyr intends to support utilities in tackling current and upcoming challenges.
