Mexico City to Implement AMI Smart Grid Project

April 19, 2011
Comision Federal de Electricidad has selected a smart grid solution to power its first advanced metering infrastructure project in Mexico City, Mexico's capital city with a population of more than 20 million.

Comision Federal de Electricidad has selected a smart grid solution to power its first advanced metering infrastructure project in Mexico City, Mexico's capital city with a population of more than 20 million.

The Mexican Secretaria de Energia (SENER) and CFE will use Elster's EnergyAxis pilot as a benchmark for evaluating the advantages of Smart Grid technologies for potential future deployments. CFE has already successfully deployed nine other EnergyAxis systems throughout 14 of Mexico's 16 service areas, making EnergyAxis the largest AMI system with the most endpoints in the country.

By demonstrating AMI features such as remote meter reading in hard to reach areas, energy usage monitoring, remote connect/disconnect, load management and AMI-DA (distribution automation) convergence in voltage monitoring, the Elster project will expand CFE's Smart Grid initiatives even further.

CFE, which is owned by the Mexican government, generates, distributes and markets electric power for almost 34.2 million customers. Elster is the first and only AMI provider to have received a Certificate of Compliance from CFE, which certifies the integration of EnergyAxis with CFE's enterprise system.

As part of this project, Elster will deploy its EnergyAxis Smart Grid solution and Smart Meters in the zone of Polanco, a residential neighborhood near Chapultepec. CFE will use the project to showcase AMI benefits including system improvements, increased productivity, reduced outages, more accurate readings, improved operational efficiencies related to fewer truck rolls and service calls, and a reduction in non-technical losses.

Elster is leading a consortium of utility technology providers on the Mexico City Smart Grid project, including the company's distributor partner in Mexico, Tecnologias EOS. Additional consortium members include ENERI, which will provide its own technology for cabinet solutions and GIMSA, the subcontractor that will work with Elster on the meter installations.

With a multi-technology, IP-based approach to Smart Grid deployments, Elster's Smart Meters and EnergyAxis solution provide unique features for collecting and managing energy data for both residential and commercial customers.

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