— Srikanth Chandrasekaran,
Senior Regional Program Manager, IEEE - SA
In July this year,
Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC)
decided to introduce a new "Time of Day" tariff system on pilot
basis in Delhi. In the ToD system, power tariff is charged to
according to the time of the day in which electricity is consumed. A
popular concept in the developed world, ToD is a means to
encourage consumers to limit their power consumption during peak
hours and give them a chance to lower their electricity charges. In
this interaction,
Srikanth Chandrasekaran gives insights into the
ToD metering concept and explains how this could be the
forerunner of a Smart Grid platform in India.
What would be the ground-level challenges in implementing
ToD metering in India?
The TOD metering mechanism is being conceived primarily to
encourage commercial users to become more energy
conscientious and efficient; and to help reduce power
consumption during peak hours so that load shedding could be
minimised in residential areas in peak summer months when
the demand goes up substantially. As
the technology is considered premium,
its implementation in the Indian
industry has been a bit slower than
expected. TOD metering has been
proposed to be implemented in selected
areas of India as an experimental basis.
In spite of the monetary issues, power
utilities need to begin with basic
automation systems, eventually
upgrading to advanced systems. TOD is
not going to be an easy task since the
Indian power sector poses a number of
barriers such as:
- There is a huge geographical area
with difficult terrain and varying
temperature conditions
- Meters located inside the house
would be difficult for electricians to
check while required
- Standardization of different
parameter requirements across different consumers &
utilities
- PLC technology could be used in physical infrastructure as it
posses a barrier for wireless technologies
- Interoperability: control commands and other data formats
should be Interoperable with AMI infrastructure
- Project finance: Fresh investment would be required at all
levels, and benefits would accrue only
after successful turn.
Besides, consumer behaviour plays a
big and important role and needs to
change in order to take advantage of the
technologies.
Can we regard ToD metering as the
foundation for the eventual Smart Grid
platform in India?
Yes, ToD can be one of many technologies
to help India evolve its smart grid. Smart
Grid is the electrical grid that uses
technology to gather information on the
usage and pricing in ToD system of
metering. Based on this information,
customers can compare rates and see the
saving they could expect or they could
efficiently manage the usage. Hence we
see "Smart Grid" to be one of those catch-all
terms that can be defined in myriad ways.
Tell us about the direct benefits of ToD metering for both the
consumer and the utility.
ToD meters will help provide automated real time meter
reading and billing information, two-way communications
between the utility and the smart meter, delivery of voltage
and power quality data to the utility and automated alarms
to alert the utilities to operational issues and attempted
power theft. To successfully implement ToD metering, it is
essential to understand the roles of each element in the
metering solution and the lines of demarcation separating
their respective functions. By taking a closer look at what a
smart meter really encompasses-and at what the AMI
standards really intended the term to mean-we can gain a
better understanding of the steps that industry must take to
mitigate risks and improve outcomes in AMI
implementations.
Can you elaborate?
A close examination of the IEEE 1377™ or IEEE 1703™
standards reveals that AMI is envisioned as a larger
architecture, not just a single, monolithic solution. The
recent update to the IEEE 1377 Standard aims to provide
forward-looking guidance.
IEEE 1703 provides common structures for encoding data
in communication between end devices (meters, home
appliances, IEEE 1703 Nodes) and utility enterprise
collection and control systems using binary codes and XML
content. The standard addresses the Metering and Smart
Grid requirements. The abstract of the companion IEEE
1703 communication standard provides additional insight
by stating that the "application layer messaging services
that are applicable for the enterprise and End Device of an
Advanced Metering Infrastructure," therefore hinting that
in the new paradigm of a smart grid, Metering is no longer
meter-centric, as was the Automated Meter Reading
(AMR) paradigm.