What is the transition from AMR to AMI? Panel session led by Tom Mills, Director of Smart Water Team Sensus Martin Hall Graham Symmonds Tal Zur Ken Thompson Metering Technology Manager - Thames Water Chief Knowledge Officer - FATHOM VP Software & IT - Arad Group Deputy Director Intelligent Water Solutions - CH2M Hill
What is the transition from AMR to AMI? Martin Hall Metering Technology Manager Thames Water 30 th April 2015
Current Position at Thames Water Currently have ~300,000 AMR meters installed AMR provided by Homerider tracs Meter reading by Temetra readers Primarily used for meter reading / billing Little use of other functionality Some concerns over robustness of this solution
Business Case for Fixed Network data Cost effectiveness solution to managing the supply demand balance Benefits: Accurate billing Customer side leakage Main replacement and ALC targeting Customer water efficiency BUT capture
Smart Water Metering Integrated approach and cultural change Progressive programme Customer engagement Meter technology BAU installation programmes Fixed asset data Smart Water Metering Operational data collection Benefits realisation Wholesale metering services IT systems & data management Customer services
Meter Technology & Operational Data Collection Range of AMR meters with electronic registers Local Communication Equipment Paired to the meter and automatically switch to fixed network mode when radio signal detected Mast coverage to >97% of meters Includes; defects management, fault reporting and KPI performance reporting Back-haul meter data to supplier Head-end System Daily transfer to TWUL MDMS (PI)
Sum Up The move to fixed network data capture Smart Water Metering in not just about the technology End-to-end integrated process from customer engagement through to delivering the benefits Provides an opportunity for significant business improvement It involves a step change in vision, approach, technology and culture A 15 year delivery process starting November!!
What is the transition from AMR to AMI? Panel session led by Tom Mills, Director of Smart Water Team Sensus Martin Hall Graham Symmonds Tal Zur Ken Thompson Metering Technology Manager - Thames Water Chief Knowledge Officer - FATHOM VP Software & IT - Arad Group Deputy Director Intelligent Water Solutions - CH2M Hill
Smart Water Networks Forum London, UK April 29-30, 2015 The Challenge of Transitioning from AMR to AMI Graham Symmonds FATHOM 30 April 2015
Why do we need AMI? World-wide water scarcity is increasing Utility revenues are on the decline Supply-side solutions take years to permit and develop Conservation is now being Mandated Utility revenue is directly impacted Utilities need DATA to change behavior Utilities need DATA to assure revenue
Geospatial & Temporal Relevance
Behavioral Change
The Challenges: AMR to AMI Deployment considerations Most utilities operate on a cash flow basis. Activities that have the potential to disrupt this monthly revenue stream are high-risk evolutions. In a manual read collection system or AMR system, the data is not uploaded until complete and so the data collection remains disconnected from the billing system. In AMI platforms, the data delivery model changes and data collection is now integral with billing. Deployments that extend beyond a billing cycle for routes/books can significantly affect cash flow. Additionally utilities may have multiple vendors one vendor having supplied AMR infrastructure and another deploying AMI systems.
The Challenges: AMR to AMI An inability of data systems to manage the increased volume and velocity of data. Specific vendor-developed MDM platforms cannot typically handle multiple data sources. They are also typically AMR- or AMI-specific, with no capability of cross platform interoperability.. There are very few utility systems that are designed to actually use the highly granular data that is produced by these platforms. Systems that are designed to operate with two data reads per month (eg CIS systems) simply are not architected to handle the 720 to 2880 reads that are capable of being generated by AMI systems.
The Challenges: AMR to AMI MDM as the Data Pivot in a multi-vendor, multiple data source environment liberates the utility from the constraints of vendorspecific systems, and the implementation timeline dilemma. allows for the incremental deployment of AMI platforms, removing the time criticality from the implementation.
SAAS + WATER CLOUD. MOBILE. SOCIAL.
What is the transition from AMR to AMI? Panel session led by Tom Mills, Director of Smart Water Team Sensus Martin Hall Graham Symmonds Tal Zur Ken Thompson Metering Technology Manager - Thames Water Chief Knowledge Officer - FATHOM VP Software & IT - Arad Group Deputy Director Intelligent Water Solutions - CH2M Hill
Migrating from AMR to AMI Challenges Tal Z.
To migrate or not to migrate? So many challenges
Challenge #1 - choosing an AMI
AMI Types Proprietary (e.g. Arad, Itron, Sensus, Elster) Long range, short range, Mesh Licensed frequency, Free ISM (Industrial, Scientific, Medical) Interoperability Open protocols (e.g. wireless mbus) Sigfox, Actillity (LORA) IOT future implementations
Challenge #2 System installation
System installation Network installation (Its all about location ) Meters change out plan Public relation plan (communicating with the customers) Business continuation (water supply, billing, support )
Challenge #3 The human aspect
We don t like changes!!!
The human aspect We hate changes Job security ( am I going to get fired ) Ownership (it s more than a management thing ) User expectations (99.9999999999999 availability)
Challenge #4 MDM implementation
To much information
Round Rock, TX Size - 26.3 square miles Population - 110,000 35,000 Dialog3G AMR meters Upgrading to Allegro AMI Harmony MDM An aggressive 1 year time line
MDM
Panic attack!!!
MDM implementation Slow Introduction Monitoring Constant Value Training Customizing
Main challenges Choosing the right AMI - what's good for your organization Installation location, meters change out plan, PR MDM implementation start slow, training Human aspects locate key personnel, ownership, value
Thank you
What is the transition from AMR to AMI? Panel session led by Tom Mills, Director of Smart Water Team Sensus Martin Hall Graham Symmonds Tal Zur Ken Thompson Metering Technology Manager - Thames Water Chief Knowledge Officer - FATHOM VP Software & IT - Arad Group Deputy Director Intelligent Water Solutions - CH2M Hill
Advanced Metering Infrastructure: Security and Resilience for the Water Sector Ken Thompson, PE (CH2MHill) CAPT Nelson Mix, PE, CHMM (USPHS) US EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
Surveillance and Response System Architecture Advanced Metering Infrastructure Surveillance Response Online Water Quality Monitoring Enhanced Security Monitoring Take corrective action if necessary, then resume routine surveillance. Consequence Management Routine data review YES Can distribution system contamination be ruled out? NO Customer Complaint Surveillance Public Health Surveillance If unusual water quality is detected, an alert generated and investigated. Sampling and Analysis Source Water Monitoring AMI was evaluated in 2014 and considered viable as a new data stream component
Value Key Themes AMI Resiliency and Security Enhancements The Value of Now There is certain information whose value decays exponentially over time. Need to perform real-time analytics on data to provide realtime intelligence Enabling the Edge Resources on the perimeter of the distribution/collection system (aka the edge) often lack the ability to provide/generate real-time or consume real-time information. By enabling these resources, value can be achieved. Think about the possibilities, if our pump stations, treatment plants, pipes, at the edge sensors, customer meters, and storage reservoirs could all talk and learn from each other? Time
How are utilities using AMI for resilience and security? (8 Interviews) Summary of Information Categories from 8 Interviews Conducted by EPA in 2014 Billing Applications # of Reads per Day # Transmits received per Day Additional Capabilities Implemented Future Plans, System Limitations, NRW - Leak Detection Residential Leak Detection Programming Capabilities Frequency of Alerts Response Protocol Future Enhancement Plans Backflow Detection Backflow Detection Capabilities Programming Capabilities Frequency of Alerts Response Protocol Future Enhancement Plans Tampering Meter Tampering Capabilities Programming Capabilities Frequency of Alerts Response Protocol Future Enhancement Plans
How are utilities using AMI for resiliency and Security? (8 Interviews) Best Management Practice Meter Functionality Utility Application Remote Shutoff (Billing / Resiliency) Two Communications Powered valves Delinquent accounts Backflow, Freezing Leak Detection (Resiliency) Readings taken every 15 minutes Real time alert response protocol developed Customer notification process for excessive flow Frozen Pipe Prevention (Resiliency) Automatic temperature alarm Off sync alerts Real-time alert response protocol developed Meter Tampering (Security) Wire cut and magnetic tamper alerts System evaluation every 5 minutes Off sync alert Real-time alert response protocol developed Backflow Detection (Security) Readings taken every 15 minutes Adjustable volume and time thresholds Off sync alerts Internal threshold algorithm based on user class Real-time alert response protocol developed
Findings and Challenges Backflow monitoring and tampering alerts can significantly increase the security of the distribution system AMI can have a large role in Conservation, Operational Resiliency, and Consequence Management Maturity of the technology & challenges Battery life Cost Utility unfamiliarity with data analytics Lack of Standards Occasional negative public perception
Technology Innovation Example KEY FEATURES KEY BENEFITS Integrated rechargeable battery system with on- Encrypted secure data transfer board power generation Cloud based Hosting Integrated remote on/off for emergencies, service stops and starts, and pressure management Modular 2-way wireless communications via cellular Integrated pressure / temperature sensing and alerts intellih 2 O Water Management Application (Software) intellih 2 O Residential Water Meter Hardware intellih 2 O Net Wireless Communicatio n Designed for 15+ year life Enables creating of real time system wide pressure profiles Currently using 1X cellular and converting to HSPA+ in near future Solves the battery life problem needed for faster data transmission Proprietary & Confidential 43
Stakeholders mentioned during the 8 Interviews