American Gas - May 2013 - (Page 64)

Lower costs, improved services, and better business operations: AMI is an opportunity we can’t afford to miss BY JOSEPH TURGEON H E A DWAY MAKING THE CASE FOR SMART METERS U tilities have been talking for a while now about advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), or “smart” meters. Many now face a decision about whether to spend money on the technology. But unless we make a compelling case for AMI, and unless we invest in the right solutions and strategies, we’ll miss a singular opportunity to improve our businesses. Several American Gas Association member utilities are now upgrading to AMI. But most utilities in North America still deploy field technicians for once-a-month meter readings. As a result, they’re missing out on the many potential benefits of AMI. To address this situation, we must make a case for AMI by demonstrating that it can reduce costs and improve services. We also need to deploy AMI to collect and act on safety-related data. We should apply AMI data to better understand usage and improve service levels. And we need to identify new categories of data that can make AMI even more valuable. The good news is that the AGA Distribution Measurement Committee and AMI subcommittee are taking active steps to address these issues and more. To date, AMI deployments have focused on meter reading. But it’s hard to make a case for AMI simply to support monthly billing. We need to demonstrate operational efficiencies such as using the hourly or daily metering data to improve customer engagement, drive conservation, satisfy regulatory requirements, and improve operations. In the end, the AMI case will be made by reducing truck rolls and improving efficiencies across the organization. In terms of safety, technologies developed for the electric or water sectors can be adapted to gas applications in areas such as theft detection, leak detection, load balancing, monitoring, and automation. Several manufacturers are working on devices for a smart gas infrastructure, such as remote-disconnect valves to address residential theft and non-pay situations. Automating 64 AMERICAN GAS MAY 2013 galvanic and impressed current cathodic protection measurement and reporting to meet PHMSA 192 monthly and annual is an area of great interest to utilities to leverage their AMI network. Another concept is to combine pressure sensors with AMI communication devices on mains, distribution lines, and service lines, to report high and low pressure across the network. These applications also take cost out of operations by allowing technicians to solve problems rather than “read routes.” There has been a lot of talk about Big Data. There’s huge potential for AMI to turn measurement data into useful information that could improve areas like customer service, operations, preventive maintenance, safety, and regulatory compliance. For example, analyzing time-synchronized hourly usage across customers could help engineering, gas control, and operations departments better understand residential usage patterns. Correlating time-synchronized meter data between master meters and consumers could allow utilities to more accurately inventory gas-day levels, leading to better localization of leaks and theft, and to more accurate lost and unaccounted calculations. But there are AMI innovations we’ve only begun thinking about. Could we combine hourly interval reading and prepayment software into a better class of service for some customer segments, rather than require upfront deposits or have to engage in collections? Could AMI communications be integrated into a compact, solid-state residential gas meter at an affordable price? The AGA Distribution Measurement Committee is helping to shape the discussion and the future of AMI. The committee comprises distribution utilities as full members, and manufacturers and other organizations as associate members. The newly established AMI subcommittee is currently defining its mission and charter and seeking additional distribution-utility members to contribute to its efforts. Together we can work to ensure that all utilities seize the unique opportunities now presented by AMI. u Joseph Turgeon is a principal consultant for Black & Veatch, a global consulting firm, and chairman of the AGA AMI subcommittee.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - May 2013

American Gas - May 2013
Contents
President’s Message
Subject Index
Sandy Coins Say Thanks
Digest
Issues
Update
Need to Know
By the Numbers
Places
Need to Know
Taking a Bite out of Food Truck Pollution
Canada
Capitol Hill
State House
City Hal
Safety: Getting Employees Invested
The Rails
Profile
AGA Ops Conference Preview
Procurement
Jobs
Buyer’s Guide
Marketplace
Headway

American Gas - May 2013