Corporacion Nacional de Electricidad, the single largest energy corporation in Ecuador with more than 1.2 million end customers, has selected Elster to provide its Advanced Metering Infrastructure deployment.
CNEL will deploy Elster's EnergyAxis solution to create a hosted AMI system that will improve customer service and meter reading for its residents. The utility services approximately 30 percent of the country's customer base.
The initial phase of the EnergyAxis deployment will include more than 15,000 endpoints and more than 900 low-voltage AGInodes to monitor distribution transformers in Manta, Puerto Viejo and Machala, three cities located within Manabi and El Oro, two of CNEL's regional distribution companies. The installation will eventually include other CNEL regional distribution companies, which include: Esmeraldas, Santa Elena, Milagro, Guayas-Los Rios, Los Rios, Bolivar, Santo Domingo and Sucumbios.
The EnergyAxis LV AGInode power measurement sensors use an open-core current sensor that easily connects to and disconnects from a distribution transformer. As a result, the LV AGInode monitors voltage as well as derives power quality measurement (PQM) quantities. Elster's integrated metrology accurately digitizes these measurements and, using its integrated 900 MHz radio, transmits the data to an A3 ALPHA gatekeeper on the EnergyAxis network. This enables utilities to provide accurate and reliable results and increase cost efficiencies.
