SEAS-NVE, Denmark’s largest consumer-owned utility, is achieving nearly flawless meter reading performance from its smart grid project using Echelon’s NES System. Results to date for the 200,000 homes connected thus far show that hourly collection of extended load profile data (a customer’s energy use over time) is consistently within a 99.7% to 100% performance range. The extended load profile data is equivalent to over 400,000 meters readings in less than four hours. The project is saving SEAS-NVE’s customers 16% in energy use.
“The performance of the NES based solution that Eltel Networks has built for us has exceeded even our very high expectations,” said Peter Holm Westergaard Iversen, SEAS-NVE’s CTO. “Nearly flawless performance coupled with happy consumers is a remarkable achievement. Engaging our customers, the consumer, in the process from its inception was key in rolling out a smart grid system that is both welcomed into their homes, and provides real, tangible savings every month.”
SEAS-NVE targeted a low customer complaint rate of 5% for the project. To date the complaint rate of 0.5% is 10 times better then target.
In 2008, SEAS-NVE awarded an advanced metering infrastructure project to Eltel Networks A/S for more than 380,000 homes. According to Iversen, the project was conceived of and “conducted like a concert,” coordinating the many moving parts from educating installers as to how to speak to customers in their homes to integrating the advanced meter data management system. The Eltel provided solution sets the foundation for future consumer services.
“We delivered an extremely advanced, long-term infrastructure solution to SEAS,” said Sonny Nielsen, Eltel Denmark’s CEO. “The NES based solution is truly multi-purpose – it is able to deliver smart grid applications such as micro-grid management, outage avoidance and restoration, and in-home services.” The NES System is based on the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) standard to ensure long-term and varied industry support.
