Metering project signed for US $40 million

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 17, 2008

Multiple NES meters can share a single IP connection through the use of Echelon's standards-based power line networking technology.

Danish utility SEAS-NVE has awarded an advanced metering infrastructure project to Eltel Networks, with meter data management system (MDMS) and enterprise software tools from NES VAR partner Gorlitz.

Eltel Networks is an Echelon Networked Energy Services (NES) value-added reseller partner.

Under the project, which is targeted to begin in the fourth quarter of 2008 and complete by the end of 2011, Eltel will deploy NES advanced metering infrastructure to approximately 390,000 SEAS-NVE customers.

Revenue to Echelon over the life of the project is expected to be approximately US $40 million.

"In 1976, Denmark set a national goal of energy independence", said Jesper Hjulmand, CEO at SEAS-NVE.

"The NES deployment we have released today is another step in this direction".

"By enabling us to better understand the operation of our grid and communicate bi-directionally with our customers, we expect to better manage supply and demand".

"As Denmark's largest consumer-owned energy company, we feel a responsibility to bring our customers innovative technologies and solutions that can help improve service quality and reduce costs".

"The ability of the NES system to extend beyond the meter into the home also enables us to help our customers become more informed energy consumers and provides us a platform for ongoing innovation".

The NES advanced metering infrastructure from Echelon consists of a family of highly integrated electricity meters, accessed via a web services based network operating system over an IP networking infrastructure.

Unlike systems with a dedicated radio per metering point, multiple NES meters can share a single IP connection through the use of Echelon's standards-based power line networking technology.

This drives down the per-point connection cost and enables the system to easily and cost-effectively incorporate new wide area networking technologies over the life of the system.

This project also demonstrates the ability of the NES system to reach beyond the electricity meter and interact with other devices to bring additional cost savings and quality improvements.

The NES meters used in the project will contain both an M-Bus connection (a standard for interfacing to legacy gas, water and heat meters) as well a new, open, bi-directional interface for securely sharing information between the meter and other in-home devices.

The M-Bus interface enables readings from other meters in the home to be collected over the NES infrastructure, eliminating the need for parallel meter reading infrastructure.

The meter's bi-directional serial interface enables partners such as Eltel and utilities such as SEAS-NVE to extend beyond the meter into the home to enable new applications such as wireless in-home displays, demand/response and other value-added applications.

The NES system's powerful web services based network operating system provides a standards-based platform for enterprise applications and integration.

The EDW3000 software application from Gorlitz uses the services of the NES system software to provide a full-featured meter data management system (MDMS) and a set of utility applications.