Putting Meter outside the property

Many electric companies install meter inside customer's property for the following reasons:
1. To avoid that the meter is being stolen.
2. To avoid weather conditions like rain, hot temperature, etc.
3. To avoid people vandalism.

These type of strategy does not seem to be very strategic in today life. Especially in the big cities where are most couples are working and do not have somebody in the house during working hours. Even if the owner of the house has maid, they usually instruct the maid to not open the door if visitors are not recognized. This behavior will surely becoming obstacle for meter readers to do their job. In the end, the electric consumption need to be estimated. Or in some electric company, the bill is not going to be generated and waiting for next real reading.

Energy or commercial losses are increasing if the electric companies are not going to do something about it. With the advancing technologies, meter are becoming cheaper and cheaper every year. Not to mention that the meter is mostly weather proof. This is a great news for electric companies as they could launch a campaign to move the meter outside the property. Moving the meter outside the property will surely:
1. Speed up the reading process.
2. Easily identify fraud done by customers.
3. In the end, it reduces commercial losses and bring more revenues to companies.

Benefits of Electricity Digital Panel Meter

Electricity Digital Panel Meter or for short Digital Meter has been available in the market by different vendors. The question arises for Electricity or other utility companies in general if they need to invest in digital meters.

Digital meters are NOT all Automatic Meter Reading (AMR). Digital meter is just like analog meters but displaying measures in digital, while AMR is sending the meter reading data to reading center periodically using communication technology like internet, network LAN, GPRS, etc.

In this article, we will discuss only Digital Meters. If digital meters are just like analog meter, so what the benefits to migrate to digital meters? Below are some benefits that electricity companies can have by using digital meters:

# Digital Meter can measure electricity consumption more accurately and reliably. With the digital technology, the problem of meter brakes that could happen in meter analog will not going to be encountered. This way, electricity company will charge the bill to customer more fair. The company can even decides to be as accurate as decimal points in term of electricity consumption.
# Related to previous point, since the mechanical parts are less, the maintenance period becomes less as well. The age of digital meter can be longer than ordinary mechanical/analog meters.
# Most digital meters are designed to be AMR ready. Electricity company has option to read this meter using conventional meter readers or through AMR (network LAN, etc).
# Most digital meters are equipped with probe or scanning device. This is used to transfer reading in semi automatic way. Why semi automatic? because reader should go to the meter with Hand Held Unit / Pocket PC and connect to pocket PC probe to digital meter probe. The digital meter will then transfer all the reading information to Pocket PC. This will be a good way to ensure that the readers are visiting the property instead of doing cheating by inputting reading in "coffee shop".
# Reduce cases of meter tampering. Digital meter is more difficult to tamper, if bypass meter is done, the short circuit can send signal to meter that possible tampering is done.

Before deciding if it is necessary to migrate to digital meters, a feasibility study needs to be done. Simple survey to ask within the company department should be carry out:
1. Does currently the company and client concern about more accurate reading? If the tariff price is high, this could be an issue. If the tariff is very small, it will not make a big difference by having 1-2 kW consumption.
2. Does currently the company spend big budget to maintain mechanical meters?
3. Does currently the company experience a lot of meter tampering cases?
4. Etc.

The feasibility study will decide whether the investment will give more benefits in term of tangible and intangible for future.

Currently, several companies that are producing digital meters are: Centron, GE, GANZ, IKRA, EMH, etc.

Attention to Utility Company: When your meter data is not reliable

In some utility company, the meter information stored in billing system is not reliable. This situation could happen when utility company pays too much attention of customer ID or service ID or property ID or other ID to locate and identify the service. It means that when doing meter reading, the readers tends to look for those IDs instead of meter information. If your company is guilty of doing this activity, try to look on how many anomalies or exception related to meter reading. Either, the consumption is too high, too low, or considered as many meter turn overs. If the statistics show that the number of anomalies related to meter reading is high, most probably your utility company has no meter information updated in billing system.

One action to correct the meter information is by doing data gathering to obtain updated meter information. To make it worst is that only readers know how to locate the property based on ID. And most of the time, you will not want to allocate your readers to do data gathering that could take time as compared to normal reading. This can sacrifice the billing period that your company has set. Not to mention if the house is locked and the reader needs to wait.

One solution is to use other resources as surveyors and they will do sweeping the whole area. In order to make the sweeping efficient and they could link all the meter info to correct customer ID or other ID, a preliminary campaign should be done. A reader when doing normal reading should put sticker near the meter info and write related customer ID or whatever ID that the company wants to relate to. This way, the surveyor could link all the meter info gathered to the ID used in billing system.

Train the surveyor effectively so that the method of sweeping is done correctly and surveyor know the meter information to gather.

Take note on meter exchange done during the data gathering period. All meter exchange activities should be monitored and integrated with data gathering data to make sure that the data is always updated.

Does your meter readers know meter model and brand?

Recently, I was sending the meter readers to the field to obtain some of the meter brands and model in customers' properties. To my surprise, they returned with different lists on the same area. Even though meter readers always going to the field to read meters, it is NOT necessarily mean that they know the meter brand and models. Why?

1. When they read the meters, they only read the meter number and meter reading. They never care about the brand and models. Only the technicians observe meter brand and model because the need to make a field report after installing or exchanging meters.

2. Even if they see something in meters, they do not know whether it is brand, model, country of manufactures. Especially when your readers do not speak English. It will be difficult when they see S.P.A. Is it a brand or a model? When they see EGYPT, is it a brand, model, or country of manufactures? Some meter brands uses country as the brand. To make the situation worst, some meter manufactures do not put the brand in the meter. They only put type. One example is SUNER meter brand. They only put TPD2 in the meter, which is the type of meter, NOT the brand.

Thus, if you plan to gather information about meter brand and model in some area, try to send your technicians. If you need to deploy your readers because they know the area better, spend few days to train them about the available meter brand and models in your company.

Below are some meter brands that are commonly used in electric company:
AEG
AMAM
AUTOMETER
CHAMBERLAIN
DZG
FERRANTI
GANZ
GEC
IME
ISKRA
LANDIS & GYR
ME BWANDLERZAHLER
PAFAL
S.P.A.
SCHLUMBERGER
SIAME
SIEMENS
SUNER
TEMPX
TRIVICTOR

How fast are your Meter Readers?

Are your meter readers going at the rate of 60 readings a day or 200 readings a day? Do they fast enough? These can only be answered considering some major parameters below:

1. Does the reader using paper of HandHeldUnit (HHU) during reading?
2. Does the area rural or city?
3. Do most of properties are a single meter (house) of multiple meters (apartments)

Below are some average reading speed from my experiences on different utility companies:
1. HHU, city, multiple meters: 400 or more readings a day
2. HHU, city, single meter: 100-200 readings a day
3. HHU, rural, single meter: 30-60 readings a day
4. Paper, city, multiple meters: 300 or readings a day
5. Paper, city, single meter: 70-150 readings a day
6. Paper, rural, single meter: 30-50 readings a day

The other combinations I don't have any statistics. So now, are your meter readers fast?

Upgrade into Automatic Meter Reading (AMR)

Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) is becoming a trend in utility company. Various vendors are offering nice features of AMR. However utility company should consider again if they need or if they are ready to implement this automatic meter reading. I have seen 2 out of 5 utility companies that I visited are implementing AMR but they are not benefiting much of the functionalities.

AMR has a functionality that transmits the meter reading automatically to billing system using ways of communications technologies. Either using a simple phone line, or using other telecommunication technologies like LAN, GPS, wireless, satellites, etc. From the 1 of the companies that I mentioned are not fully utilized the AMR because they just do not have reliable telecommunication technologies. In the end, they need to send readers to read the meter manually. The other 1 is not able to make an interface between AMR to the billing system. Thus, what the use of having AMR then?

Utility company should evaluate their conditions before spending money to upgrade meters to automatic meter reading. At least, here are the points that should be focussed on:

1. Within the budget? Conduct Cost and Benefit Analysis. We know that AMR can bring a lot of benefits like on time reading, early detections of irregular consumptions, better monitoring off peak and peak consumptions, better monitoring for complex tariff computation, etc. But make sure the company can utilize all of them.
2. Have strong communication network.
3. Will be able to integrate to other systems (billing system, scada, meter fraud)
4. Human Resources are prepared with the technology. Only users that understand the system can benefit from AMR.

Defining Meter Reading Area in the Maps

Meter reading is one of the important aspects for utility companies. Proper meter reading management will ensure that the bill will be produced correctly and timely for collection. However, some companies are very relying on their current readers. Once one reader for selected area is absent, the meter reading process is postponed.

The way to always having non-interruptions of meter reading process is to have a back-up readers. Some technicians can be put as back up meter readers as part of their job descriptions. Before putting them as back up readers, the company should define the area of meter reading in the maps. This is to avoid technicians will give reasons like "I do not know the area". Well defined meter reading maps could be very usefully even for new technicians that do not know well the area.

Reducing Commercial Cycle Duration

Reading - Billing - Collection is a normal Commercial Cycle for Utility Company. The duration to complete one full cycle is important for the cash flow of the company. The lesser it takes, the faster that the money can be collected over the consumptions used by customers.

Old fashion Utility company often forget the important of short Commercial Cycle Duration. Let us say that the electricity company produces a bill monthly. Most of the old fashion utilities company will spend the whole month reading customer's meters, resolve some anomalies/exceptions and bill all the services at the end of the months. By doing this, the company has an average of 15 days for its commercial cycle.

Why? Because the customers read on 1st day will get their bill on the 1st day of next month, while the customers read on 30th day will also get their bill on the 1st day of next month. Thus, the average will be 15 days more or less. What does 15 days commercial cycle means? It means that in average, that electric company will collect the money 15 days after the customers have consumed the electricity.

For us, it might not mean a lot. But for an electricity company whose revenue is million and million of dollars, this 15 days delay means something. Upper management of utility company should start thinking the best way to reduce the commercial cycle. One ideal set-up is to have daily cycle, where the customer is read and at night, the bill is produced and ready for delivery and collection the next day. This case, the commercial cycle will be reduced into 1 day. This is assuming that there is no anomalies or exception on that bill.

Reducing commercial cycle is not an easy task as it will affect the core business process of utility companies. In depth analysis and study should be paid attention to understand the risk of implementing the changes. Customers can be affected as well if they are not properly informed. Always put a team for change management to do this kind of task.

Meter Reading Anomalies / Exceptions Resolution

INTRODUCTION
Meter Reading exceptions are field findings are recorded by the Meter Readers during the Meter Reading Activity. Some meter reading exceptions suspend the billing process until some further investigation is done. This will be handled through Billing Exceptions. For other cases, billing can proceed and only certain correction related to meter reading information will have to be updated. This process describes the actions that must be done to correct meter reading information in the CSS.

UTILITY/SERVICE APPLICABLE TO
Electricity
Water

RESPONSIBILITY

Meter Reading Assistant
- Generation of service orders
- Analysis of meter reading exceptions
- Retrieval of service order findings
- Resolution of meter reading exceptions
- Update of meter reading information as needed
- Generation of contact for billing calculation/recalculation as needed

CSD Inspection Head, EDD Metering Unit Head, WDD Metering Unit Head
- Planning of service order execution

CSD Inspection Group, EDD Metering Unit, WDD Metering Unit
- Execution of service order

Meter Lab Technician
- Performing meter lab test

Billing Agent
- Checking of results of meter lab test
- Billing recalculation as needed
- Treatment of fraud as needed
- Closing of contact record

REMARKS

INPUT
Meter Reading records with exception

OUTPUT
Updated meter reading information or other service data, Recalculated bill, Fraud bill

OWNER OF THE PROCESS
Meter Reading Group

CLIENT
Meter Reading Group

PROVIDER
Meter Reading Group

Abbreviations:
- CSS : Customer Service System
- CSD : Customer Service Department
- EDD : Electric Distribution Department
- WDD : Water Distribution Department