A Retrofit Design Science Methodology for Smart Metering Design in Developing Countries

Abstract

Traditional meters present both the users and utilities providers with various challenges in developing countries. For instance utility providers must get access to their users' premises to be able to read these meters or check fraudulent connections. Users on the other hand have to wait for months or more before knowing their utility consumptions or join long queues to purchase credit for the post-payment and pre-payment meters respectively. This paper seeks to propose a design that retrofits traditional meters on site into smart meters by adding embedded units for communication and control. The study was conducted using a modified Design Science Methodology referred to as Retrofit Design Science Research Methodology (RDSRM). RDSRM argues that, the artifact in context (Smart Meter) has undergone evaluation and acceptance as critical for solving a defined problem and that there are enough literature to support its relevance. The traditional meters were studied and the proposed system was designed using General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology for communication, and Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC). Network based applications were developed to present both the consumers and the utilities with the ability to interact with the meters remotely. An attempt was made to address identified security issues of smart metering by using Message Digest 5 (MD5) Algorithm in the design. The system was evaluated based on smart metering requirements. The GPRS Retrofitted Smart Metering System (GRSMS) will reduce the cost of deploying smart meters.