Martin Garza & Gerry Jackson Integrys / Peoples Gas Chicago, IL
Background» Integrys / Peoples Gas Light & Coke Integrys Energy Group includes: - Peoples Gas - North Shore Gas - Wisconsin Public Service - Michigan Gas Utilities - Minnesota Energy Resources - Upper Peninsula Power Company - Integrys Energy Services - Trillium CNG Service Territory covers Chicago, IL 234 Sq. Miles 3 rd most populous city in America Approx. 2.7 million residents 860,000 Active gas accounts
Current State Meter reads are obtained via: - Metretek Land Line (3,301 Accounts) o Metretek is used for Daily balancing of Gas Transportation Accounts - AMR Drive by system with ITRON Mobile Collector o Supported by 8 Vehicles, 6 Drivers, 2 Supervisors, 6 Mobile Collectors o PP4 Itron System (moving to FCS in 2013) - Meter Readers Manual o 12,814 Meters, 6 FTE o PP4 Itron System (moving to FCS in 2013)
Metretek System System installed in late 1980 s Land-line modem in units - Fully dependent on a ANALOG data line o Customer responsible for maintaining phone line - Call in daily into DC2009 Server - Over the last year 6 outages o One outage lasted 10 days and lost 3 days worth of Meter Reads o Impact minimal only due to outage happened in a nonwinter month
AMR System Itron ChoiceConnect Automated Meter Reading Installation started in 1992-1,254,154 ERTs - 802,485 ERTs on Active Gas accounts - 44,814 ERTs out of warranty - Itron 40G, 40GB, 100G, 100G DLN o 96,706 100G Series ERTs in the field o Between 2016 and 2024 will need to replace approximately 77% of total 40GB population - System capable of only processing pre-loaded read routes and 10,000 out of route reads
Comparison of systems: Traditional AMR AMI Read Interval Hourly Monthly Hourly Time or read One Day lag One to 30 day lag Daily Communication One way One way Two way Remote Disconnect Visit site Visit site or queue in van route Remote Soft Close Estimate Estimate Final Read Theft Patterns Difficult Patterns Customer Service As is As is Improved
Benefits of a AMI Solution: Reduce operating costs Provide Customer data Improve Customer Service Increase safety Reduce inquires; improve billing accuracy Regulatory compliance Advanced capabilities Hard to access meters Reduce carbon footprint Close to real-time data
Options: #1: - Upgrade Metretek - Maintain AMR system - Address unerted meter population #2: - Install AMI solution - Phase out AMR - Address unerted meter population #3: - Maintain existing Metretek - Maintain AMR system and replace ERTs as needed - Maintain Meter Reader routes
Investigate an AMI Solution:» Evaluate solutions from leading Vendors Define scope of project Evaluate systems available in marketplace Approach vendors Have Vendors present possible solutions Get cost estimates from vendors Complete cost analysis in which vendor(s) are the best candidates for field trials Conduct Pilot Phase - Why have a Pilot? o Prove out AMI technology o Verify that vendor is not overselling product capabilities o Develop accurate implementation model & cost estimates o Build a business case for Final Project
Investigate an AMI Solution (Pilot Phase):» Pilot Phase : Pre-Pilot Stage: - Engage IBS/PGL partners to ensure the pilot is conducted in such a manner that we test vendor product capabilities and evaluate how existing Integrys systems and functions are impacted. o ITS o Billing o Gas Transportation o Customer Service
Investigate an AMI Solution (Pilot Phase):» Pilot Stage: - Engage Chicago Public Schools to install Collectors/Repeaters at School sites for city wide model o Collectors/Repeaters will be Solar powered and selfcontained to avoid any inconvenience or maintenance issues with CPS facilities. o Provide CPS with collector drawings and approx. load ratings o Provide CPS with pilot data access for CPS locations covered by Collectors/Repeaters - Provide Vendors with all CPS Locations to use in their models as possible Collector/Repeater installation sites. - Also investigate light-pole installations for city wide model
Investigate an AMI Solution (Pilot Phase):» Pilot Stage (cont d): - Collector setup - o Solar powered o Cell Based communications to Private Network (Pilot Vendor to provide communications) o Roof top mounting kit - Does not modify or alter installation location (no permanent mounting drilling, anchors)
Investigate an AMI Solution (Pilot Phase):» Pilot Stage (cont d): Vendors - Review & decide which vendors offer the best value Pilot Parameters - Conduct Pilot in Summer/Fall of 2012 - Pilot will include 3 Data Collectors and approx. 150-300 End-Points - Provide Vendors with master Metretek/ERT location list o Vendors to model locations with their RF study and provide an analysis of what location their network is expected cover.
Investigate an AMI Solution (Pilot Phase):» Pilot Stage (cont d): Close Pilot Phase Conduct analysis on results and expectation of vendor(s) products Provide vendors with data so that they can refine their RF studies Ask vendors to provide revised pricing based pilot results and the following scenarios.
Conclusion:
Conclusion: ERT Life Cycle Replacement - PGL is reaching the end-of-life of the first generation ITRON 40 Series ERT s purchased between 1992-1996, that generation ERT only had a 15 year battery life. This will account for about approximately 45,000 ERT s on active accounts that will have to be replaced. Also an active exchange program will be needed to address the second generation of ERTs that will reach their 20 year battery life starting in 2016. Between 2016 and 2024 PGL will need to replace approximately 517,954 ERTs. All new purchases of Itron 100G series ERT s as of Oct 2010 were capable of operating in a Fixed-Network environment, this currently amounts to approximately 96,706 ERTs. This will allow PGL to migrate over half of it s AMR infrastructure to an AMI Fixed Network by 2018.
Conclusion: Replace Metretek - The Metretek system is in need of an upgrade, it has been in place since the late 1980 s. The Measurement group has been working with the vendor on a new product called a CNI2, this would replace our aging Metretek infrastructure. This product removes the need for an analog land-line and replaces it with a cellular modem. This would account for approximately 3,500 accounts, and cost approx. $2,000,000 plus an average of $2/month in Cellular charges per unit. On the ITS side it would require approximately 3,500 unique Company IP addresses to communicate over a secure network to the DC2009 system. It was determined by the Measurement group to evaluate an AMI Fixed Network solution that would provide PGL with a better value.
Conclusion:» GTS EOM Billing issues Currently, a number of large volume transportation customers are issued cancel/rebills on a monthly basis. These are approximately 3,500 Gas Transportation accounts with End-of-month reads. Today, these accounts are read by the AMR (drive-by) system and the read date rarely coincides with the last day of the month. This requires a significant manual effort every month to process and is a result of issues with reads which includes: End of month customers receiving a read earlier in the month resulting in an estimate for billing purposes. Rebills can go back several months depending on the Customers understanding of their usage. Impact on Customer Service/Satisfaction
Conclusion: Value Adds - Moving to a fixed network will allow the PGL group to monitor additional field equipment that currently requires other means of detection. This would include Vault Monitoring, Cathodic Protection, Methane Detection, System Pressure monitoring, remote shut-off valves and meters.
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