Chapter 29 - Metering architecture of smart grid

Abstract

Smart metering is the main initiative for fulfilling the objectives of smart grid (SG). Smart grids solve critical problems like balancing of renewable, customer operations, peak management, and many more. Undeniably, smart metering reduces the commercial losses, monitoring of energy (real time or near real time), energy theft detection, enhancement in grid reliability, and leads to better revenue as well as tariff management. Further, it introduces innovative tariff structures and dispatches accurate bills based on meter data, thus reducing the annoyance of customers and increasing the improvement of customer loyalty. It will encourage consumers to change behavior and optimize energy consumption, even by generating electricity at their own premises and vend it back to the grid. So, smart metering architecture plays a vital role in achieving the objectives of a smart grid. The outline of this chapter will include need of smart grid, role of smart meters in smart grid, smart metering architectures that will incorporate strategic AMR–AMI (automatic meter reading–advanced metering infrastructure) platform, Meter Data Acquisition System, Head End System for Main Substation, commercial and residential metering based on open standard protocols/interfaces, platform for smart grid system which will have provision of a highly reliable, flexible, and scalable hardware & software platform comprising back office integration. Various meter data format and different ways of data transmission, role of smart meter, and ramifications of smart meters that are presently installed by utilities are also presented in this chapter.