Oncor Reaches Another Milestone in Smart Texas Advanced Meter Deployment

July 22, 2009
Oncor's Smart Texas initiative has completed a major step in its advanced metering system deployment with the first 15-minute interval, billing-quality electricity consumption data reporting to the Texas market.

Oncor's Smart Texas initiative has completed a major step in its advanced metering system deployment with the first 15-minute interval, billing-quality electricity consumption data reporting to the Texas market.

The data, which makes it possible to support innovative new programs and pricing options, represented a successful information technology integration involving over 200,000 advanced meters. Oncor anticipates the service will expand to close to 700,000 meters by year-end and to 3.4 million advanced meters, every meter in Oncor’s system, by 2012.

“Oncor’s Smart Texas initiative is one of the most comprehensive smart grid build-outs in the United States,” Mark Carpenter, vice president and chief information officer, said. “The ability to provide data to the Texas market that can be settled every 15 minutes is a huge accomplishment for Oncor and its team of manufacturers and vendors.”

The system integration project, which began in July 2008, merges the functions of multiple technologies and information technology systems supporting Oncor’s advanced metering system deployment plan. To meet market desires and provide quick customer benefits, several vendors worked on an accelerated schedule to achieve the goal of reporting Validated, Edited and Estimated electricity consumption data to the Texas market by July 1, 2009.

The team was responsible for integrating AMS software, records, meter data management, work management and customer information and billing systems. Vendors supporting Oncor on the project were system integrator IBM, meter manufacturer and communications system provider Landis + Gyr, meter data management systems provider Ecologic Analytics, architecture designer Perficient and information technology company Capgemini Energy.

In addition to providing data capable of being settled by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas every 15 minutes, the integrated system will now support communication with an in-home monitor (ZigBee Smart Energy Profile 1.0). In early 2010, the system will be expanded to connect to a common Web portal and data repository that will allow consumers to monitor consumption data and allow retail electric providers to interact through the system with consumers and consumers’ equipment. This ability will make new features such as real-time pricing signals, direct load control and enhanced prepay services possible.

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