Underground Construction - June 2018 - 12

Asset Management

The Role of Smart Gas in the
Smart City
Dan Bennett

The "Smart City" movement has
emerged as the dominant trend
in the utility industry, as cities
and municipalities seek to create smarter infrastructure and
improve the lives of the citizens
they serve. These cities now look
to Big Data and the Internet of
Things to create a more connected future, driving operational
efficiencies and improving customer service, while helping customers become smarter about
their usage.
Because many cities and
municipalities own water and
electricity infrastructure, these
service areas provide a natural
starting place for smart city
solutions. Utilities can quickly
capitalize by implementing
technologies to enhance everything from leak detection to
power outage restoration. Gas
utilities, on the other hand,
aren't typically owned by the
municipality, and therefore
aren't always top-of-mind in
smart city conversations. What
role does smart gas have in the
smart city movement?
In this article, we'll examine
some of the technology solutions employed by gas utilities
that place smart gas squarely
in the smart city conversation, whether these utilities
are owned by the municipality
or not.

Connected gas
infrastructure
The use of natural gas within
homes and throughout commercial industries is growing at
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JUNE 2018 | UConOnline.com

a steady pace all over the world.
Affordability, stable pricing and
reliability make natural gas an
ideal choice - especially within
North America. As gas continues
to improve the quality of life for
residents and businesses alike,
the industry has a terrific opportunity to become a bigger part
of the technological connectedness that is becoming the norm
today.
Aligning with this movement,
gas utilities are implementing advanced communication
networks, a component of the
smart grid system that has traditionally been applied to water
and electricity. The openness
of these networks unlocks the
capability for advanced metering
infrastructure (AMI), allowing
utilities to gain real-time data
that improves employee safety,
gives customers peace of mind
and helps create new efficiencies. In many ways, that's just
the beginning.
Smart grid systems for natural gas can be paired with new
applications to help gas utilities
get out in front of operational
challenges, including gas distribution, pressure measurements, pipe corrosion protection
and remote disconnection in
response to leaks and nonpayment. These capabilities dramatically improve customer service
and improve efficiencies for the
utility through integration with
existing work-order management systems.
With smart technology

Smart grid systems for natural gas can be paired
with new applications to help gas utilities get
out in front of operational challenges, including
gas distribution, pressure measurements, pipe
corrosion protection and remote disconnection
in response to leaks and nonpayment.
solutions, gas utilities leverage
real-time data with prioritized
alarms that take safety to new
levels. Beyond customer safety
and improved response time,
there's considerable intelligence
gained from the real-time data
within their networks. That data
allows utilities to evaluate performance and elevate the customer experience. These benefits
lower the cost of doing business
and build customer loyalty.

Smarter solution
To maximize the potential
benefits of smart gas, many
utilities are looking beyond the
gas meter and focusing on the
entire solution. A secure and
private communication network
serves as the foundation, mainly
because an open infrastructure
can facilitate vulnerabilities. The
system must also consistently
function and be readily available
when it's needed most - such as

extreme weather events.
Once the communication
network is in place, devices and
sensors enable gas utilities and
municipalities to gather data -
even from existing residential
and commercial meters. This
data helps gas providers better
serve customers by understanding usage patterns and improving operational efficiencies. Currently available sensors monitor
pressure and temperature levels,
as well as transmit alarms to
the utility or customer, enabling
rapid resolution of an issue.
An exciting aspect of smart
gas is the ability to monitor
corrosion around the clock. The
federal mandate is to test lines
for corrosion once per year, and
this is typically done at various points along the line. It's a
time-consuming and manpower-intensive process that often
fails to take into account that
a lot can happen throughout a

CMY

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Underground Construction - June 2018

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