Landis+Gyr has reached a milestone in its advanced metering deployment for Ameren Illinois Utilities, the electric and gas utility serving 1.2 million electric and more than 840,000 natural gas customers in Illinois.
The Ameren Illinois Utilities’ project has passed the halfway mark of a 1.1 million endpoint deployment that began in 2006. At present, more than 670,000 electric and gas endpoints have been deployed in the more populous areas of the Ameren Illinois Utilities’ service territory. Landis+Gyr’s Energy Management Solutions division is deploying a two-way RF mesh network to communicate with the 1.1 million endpoints.
“The two-way network infrastructure will enable us to perform two-way communications with our customers and within our distribution system. This infrastructure positions us for 'smart grid' applications,” said Bruce Hollibaugh, managing supervisor, Smart Grid and Meter Reading Services for Ameren Illinois Utilities.
In addition to meter data retrieval, the utility is considering other applications of two-way advanced metering, including remote disconnect/connect, remote demand resets, and interface with home area networking to support real-time pricing programs. As a service provider to a number of university cities, the utility also uses the system to initiate and terminate service for transient student populations, saving thousands of service calls.
According to Hollibaugh, the advanced metering system is expected to enhance storm restoration work, particularly in providing power outage locations for field service personnel.
In addition to the Ameren Illinois Utilities deployment, Landis+Gyr has operated an electric and gas advanced metering network for AmerenUE in Missouri since 1995. Combined, the Ameren utilities now have more than 2 million endpoints deployed. Both networks are deployed and operated by Landis+Gyr under managed service agreements with the utilities.
