At the Metering Europe congress (in Barcelona from Oct. 6 to 8, 2009) Siemens will present a holistic smart metering solution, extending from intelligent meters to SAP applications, as one of the key components of a smart grid. The associated metering infrastructure is based on the consumption data acquisition and distribution network automation system AMIS. The system will be supplemented by a modern meter data management system. It links AMIS via a standardized SAP interface to corporate office software applications – including call centers and customer Internet customer portals. Utilities will thus be able to use smart metering consistently – from metering to billing.
The Siemens smart metering solution provides a future-oriented basis for upcoming smart grid applications, for example, for allowing and handling the increased feed-in of renewables-based power. The holistic solution enables operations including remote meter reading and management of all meters in a specific supply area. Gas and water meters communicate bi-directionally with Siemens’ smart AMIS electricity meters. Existing ripple-control systems can also to be replaced with the new technology. In addition, the system can acquire network parameters such as overvoltage and undervoltage, short-term and long-term failures, and power quality indicators from the medium-voltage network and end customers. On the basis of detailed information such as earth-fault and short-circuit indications, and measurable asset indicators, it is also possible to optimize overall grid operation.
The special features include the integration of gas and water meters, the telecontrol equipment of the AMIS data conncentrators for transformer stations and the integration in an existing Scada system (supervisory control and data acquisition). At Metering Europe in Barcelona presentations will be given to show how Siemens integrates the Energy IP meter data management system into a corporate IT landscape as part of a holistic smart metering-solution via an SAP MDUS (meter data unification and synchronization) interface. It enables the flow of information and command transfer between SAP and the meter data management system.
The basis for this integration is a service-oriented architecture, which exchanges measured data, alarms and control data bi-directionally between SAP, the AMIS system and third-party systems, such as load management, outage management and job orders. The meter data management system serves as the neural hub of the intelligent metering infrastructure. This data and process integration enables utilities to optimize their business processes in the office and their customer support.
