Smart Metering for CSG, Huawei and China Mobile, China
One of the biggest business problems faced by China Southern Power Grid (CSG), which provides southern China with electricity, is how to collect electricity usage information from all the meters across its vast infrastructure. Relying on employees to manually read meters proved time-consuming, often inaccurate and expensive.
To improve its efficiency, CSG has installed an automated solution from Huawei, Hongdian and China Mobile, which uses an automated meter reading system and embedded mobile modules to remotely collect data from across its meter and power grid. With the system, which uses one million remote monitoring devices, CSG can now track end-users’ electricity usage in real-time, which allows it to both prepare accurate bills and estimate ongoing demand.
In locations such as apartment blocks, multiple sites can be connected to a single data collection and communications terminal which aggregates the output of all meters and relays the aggregated data. The SIM information is embedded directly into the communication module’s software to prevent endusers from removing the SIM card and taking the meter out of service. CSG can detect faults on the meter and control it remotely. The solution also provides over-the air updates for the communications module so that its software is kept up-to-date.
CSG is also using M2M technology to monitor other key parts of its electricity network, such as substations, power lines and primary nodes. By connecting the communications module to additional equipment, such as cameras or monitoring equipment, CSG can obtain real-time information to help it with remote troubleshooting and maintenance.
The automated meter reading and monitoring solution has provided CSG with a number of benefits, including:
- Lower costs: labour costs, maintenance and troubleshooting costs kept to a minimum. Communications costs are kept low by using the public wireless network.
- More accurate information: Automating data collection eliminates the inevitable human error that occurs with manual collection.
- Simple deployment: M2M modules can be easily integrated into meters through a standard serial interface and configured over the air
- More reliable power network: any breakdown in the network is quickly detected and remedied.
- Carbon reduction: CSG has greatly reduced the carbon footprint of its meter readers and engineers who no longer need to travel to every incident or reading
