Advanced Metering Infrastructure

AMI is an integrated system of smart meters, data management systems and

communication networks that enable two-way communication between the utilities
and the customers.

From: Advances in Computers, 2021

Related terms:

Information Technology, Power Line Communication

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Big Data, Data Mining, and Predictive

Analytics and High Performance Com-
puting
Phillippe Mack, in Renewable Energy Integration, 2014

2.6 Load metering data

Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is deployed in many countries. AMI enables
two-way communication meters reading electrical consumption at a higher fre-
quency. This information can be processed in real-time and signals sent to manage
demand. Demand-side management requires a lot of data processing to understand
the load patterns and to design proper signals that enable optimal use of the
distribution grid and manage reserve and frequency response.

Collecting data at each meter is critical for energy suppliers and distribution system
operators to better understand the patterns of electrical energy users so they can
elaborate market signals and understand customer behavior.

> Read full chapter

Impact of Distributed Energy Resource
Penetrations on Smart Grid Adaptive
Energy Conservation and Optimization
Solutions
Moein Manbachi, in Operation of Distributed Energy Resources in Smart Distribu-
tion Networks, 2018

5.2.1.3 Advanced Metering Infrastructure

AMI provides electric power utilities with a two-way communication system from
control center to the meter, as well as the ability to modify customers’ different
service-level parameters. The expansion of AMI technologies and developments of
smart meter installations through smart metering programs provide distribution
grids with a great opportunity to capture voltage feedback of termination points.
Here, one important question is how many measurement nodes does energy
conservation and optimization solution requires. Depending on grid operating
condition, smart meter data availability & accessibility and the type of optimization
algorithm, required measurement points could differ from one energy conservation
and optimization approach to another. As mentioned before, it is possible to use data
capturing/filtering techniques to lower AMI costs related to energy conservation and
optimization solution especially for centralized approach. In decentralized approach,
intelligent agents (IAs) could pick required data of the optimization engine according
to their predefined tasks. Another advantage of AMI-based energy conservation
and optimization approach is the possibility of monitoring termination points, i.e.,
the targeted location of voltage reduction, online or in quasi real-time. As most
recent smart meters are preconfigured to send consumer data every 15 minutes
(or 5 minutes in some cases), it would be conceivable to optimize distribution grid
through AMI-based energy conservation and optimization solution for each quasi
real-time stage. Another fact on using AMI data that deserves attention is data
fluctuations that may occur due to load variations in quasi real-time. It is clear
that there is a time gap between data capturing and the operation time of control
components commanded by the ECOE. Load variations during and after this time
gap could cause inaccurate optimization. Applying speed-up operation techniques
through predictive algorithms for load forecasting could be a future solution. In
some recent studies, predictive energy conservation and optimization solutions were
proposed. In addition, load variations impose a safety margin at the lowest limit
of ANSI for AMI-based CVRs that has to be considered as a constraint in the CVR
problem. For instance, a CVR approach cannot reduce consumer voltages into 115V
or less due to the safety reasons and to support load variations.
> Read full chapter

Power quality issues of smart micro-

grids: applied techniques and decision
making analysis
Yahya Naderi, ... Josep M Guerrero, in Decision Making Applications in Modern
Power Systems, 2020

4.2.2.1 Advanced metering infrastructure

AMI enables the application of technologies, such as smart meters and other ad-
vanced metering devices, to enable a two-way flow of information between cus-
tomers and utility and to provide customers and utility with data on consumption
including time and amount of consumed energy and electricity price. This will give
the smart grids a wide range of functionalities, such as remote consumption con-
trol, time-based pricing, consumption forecast, fault and outage detection, remote
connection and disconnection of users, theft detection and loss measurements, and
effective cash collection and debt management. Meeting these goals means the
progress to a smarter grid that will have better control over power quality from
different aspects. Logging and reporting of any kind of disturbance and outage in a
very fast way will improve the power quality index in AMI-equipped grids.

> Read full chapter

Smart Grids
Jerry Jackson, in Future Energy (Second Edition), 2014

28.4.1 Advanced Metering Infrastructure/Smart Meters

Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) applies a communications system and
solid-state meters capable of remotely providing each customer’s electricity use
detail to the utility at 15 minute or hourly intervals. Additional information including
peak electricity use, voltage and other power characteristics are also available. A
variety of communications options can be used to transmit data from individual
meters back to utility operations. A few of these options include public WiFi, private
radio systems and power line carrier systems that transmit information through
the electric distribution system. Smart meters can also provide radio gateways into
premises to control and develop information for individual appliances.

AMI/smart meters can dramatically reduce many traditional utility operating costs
including meter reading, customer services, field services, collections, theft manage-
ment and other functions. Service switches in the meter allow the utility to connect
and disconnect customers without making a service call.

> Read full chapter

Smarter Demand Response in RTO

Markets
Stuart Bresler, ... Paul Sotkiewicz, in Energy Efficiency, 2013

9.2 Evolution of Information and Automation to Enable Re-

sponse to Prices
AMI allows for applications that show users how and when they are consuming
energy and makes it worthwhile to devise methods or algorithms by which response
to prices can be programmed and automated. Innovative services for end-users such
as the “Green Button” will allow customers to download data regarding their usage
in a standard format that can be read be a variety of applications so they can better
manage consumption.16

Figure 16.8. Green Button for Managing Consumption.

The other critical tool for enabling end-users to see and respond to prices is au-
tomation. The California Energy Commission supported the effort to automate load
response by funding research and development by the Demand Response Research
Center (DRRC), which is operated by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(LBL). In 2009 the DRRC published Open ADR, a framework for the underlying
communication protocols needed to automate load response.17 Subsequently, the
DRRC contributed version 1.0 of the OpenADR standard to the Organization for the
Advancement of Structured Information Standards and the Utilities Communica-
tions Architecture International Users Group. Work is ongoing to produce OpenADR
version 2.0.18 Open ADR has contributed to the development standard demand
response signals.

In late 2009, the National Institute of Standards and Technology created a public –
private partnership, the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), to harmonize and
accelerate the development of standards for the smart grid. SGIP currently includes
more than seven-hundred-seventy member organizations representing twenty-two
stakeholder categories. Through its standing committees on architecture, cyber-se-
curity, testing and certification, and implementation methods and various Priority
Action Plan (PAP) working groups the SGIP is developing an authoritative Catalog of
Standards useful in smart grid implementations. SGIP is an “ongoing organization
and consensus process to support the evolution of Smart Grid interoperability
standards,19” that partners with a variety of Standards Development Organizations.20

Green Button represents the realization of standards developed through the SGIP
process. Open ADR is currently being harmonized with other standards through the
work of SGIP PAP 9. There is also a new SGIP Priority Action Plan (PAP) 19 that is
comparing the OpenADR profile to the common business process and standards
requirements for the integration of smart grid implementation developed by the In-
dependent System Operators/Regional Transmission Organizations Council’s (IRC’s)
IRC SmartGrid project, which is based on the common information model (CIM).21

Coordinating the communication protocols, standards, and technology to allow

for the interoperability of so-called Smart Grid technologies is also necessary for
enabling automation of response to prices.22 Other work within the SGIP is starting
to consider standard approaches for communicating dynamic prices to end use
devices and automation systems. 23

> Read full chapter

Smart grid digitalization in Germany

by standardized advanced metering in-
frastructure and green button
Jürgen Meister, ... Mathias Uslar, in Application of Smart Grid Technologies, 2018

7 Future developments
The German AMI provides sophisticated concepts for meter data management and
solutions. The build-up of the nation-wide AMI will take several years, so there
might be only a few further developments regarding the AMI concepts during
the build-up phase. One of them may be a deeper adoption of the Green Button
standard for Germany. The substandard CMD could provide improved metered
data services for energy consumer companies. With the implementation of CMD,
consumer companies will be able to automatically redirect metered data to their
energy management subcontractors for different purposes, for example, regularly
providing the obligated ISO 50001 energy reports to government agencies.

In the medium to long term, the broader usage for secured CLS communication
channels for Internet of Thing applications outside the energy sector appears to
be a promising perspective. Here an integration of future wireless 5G technologies
with smart grid gateways (SMGW) would be needed. More importantly, the opening
of the registration, authentication, and authorization processes of the smart grid
gateway administrators (SMGWA) to other industries than just energy could be
crucial for the success and acceptance of a nationwide AMI.

> Read full chapter

Iranian smart grid: road map and me-

tering program
Gevork B. Gharehpetian, ... Alireza Zakariazadeh, in Application of Smart Grid
Technologies, 2018

2.3 System components and interfaces

The AMI system in the FAHAM project typically refers to the full measurement
and collection system that includes meters at the customer site; communication
networks between the customer and a service provider, such as an electric, gas,
or water utility; and data reception and management systems that make the in-
formation available to the service provider. Fig. 11 shows a typical distribution
system including AMI. Data can be provided at the customer level and for other
enterprise-level systems either on a scheduled basis or on demand. FAHAM will
communicate this data to a central location, sorting and analyzing it for a variety of
purposes such as customer billing, outage response, system loading conditions, and
demand-side management. FAHAM as a two-way communication network will also
send this information to other systems, customers, and third parties as well as send
information back through the network and meters to capture additional data, control
equipment, and update the configuration and software of equipment. Components
and interfaces forming the AMI system in the FAHAM project are illustrated in Fig.
12. The main components are described in the following:
Fig. 11. A typical AMI system.

Fig. 12. FAHAM system and interface architecture.

• The electricity meter/communication hub is an electronic smart meter device

for measuring electricity, that is, an electricity meter. In addition to being
a communication hub, it also incorporates additional processing capacities,
memory, and communications for the storage and transmission of data re-
ceived from multiutility meters, if the interface MI3 is present, and the end
customer device, if the interface MI4 is present. The central system, either
directly through the wide-area communication interface MI2, if present, or
indirectly via a concentrator using interface MI1, remotely manages the elec-
tricity meter/communication hub.
• The multiutility meter is an electronic smart meter device for measuring water
or gas with a general communication link to an electricity meter/communica-
tion hub using the local interface MI3.
• End customer devices are ancillary equipment such as an in-home display, which
can be connected to the customer installation in order to permit an interaction
and/or display consumption or other information to the customer. The end
customer devices communicate to the electricity meter/communication hub •
using the optional meter interface MI4.
The data concentrator (DC) is an intermediate element between the electric- •
ity meter/communication hub and the central system. Its main purpose is
to collect and manage the information directly received from the electricity
meters and indirectly received from the multiutility meters, if present, as well
as also indirectly from the end-customer devices, if present. This information,
consisting of measurement registers, alarms, etc., which is collected through
interface CI1, is then sent to the central system via the wide-area interface CI2.
For control commands, programming, reconfigurations, etc., coming from
the central system, the data flow is the opposite direction and reaches the
electricity meter/communication hub via CI1-MI1. In addition, there might
exist the option of having external devices connected via the local interface
CI3.
External devices are other types of equipment that can be connected to the •
concentrator using the optional interface CI3. They can be used, for example,
to permit future smart grid functionality that needs control, monitoring, or
sensor elements at the transformer station, which is typically the location
where the concentrator is installed.
The central access system (CAS) interfaces with application systems through •
the interface SI3 and is responsible for the management of all information
and data related to smart metering as well as the configuration, control, and
operation of all system components using communication via the wide-area
interfaces SI1 and SI2. This functionality also includes the treatment of events
and alarms and the management and operation of all system communications.
In most cases, the central system will receive orders from the application
system and has to assure their correct and timely execution, and then returns
the result of the operation to the application system. These orders can include
reading of different parameters, reconfiguration of field components, remote
disconnect of supply, etc. The CAS might delegate parts of its operation to the
concentrators, if present, such that certain operations can be performed locally
without the need for continuous wide-area communications.
Application systems or legacy systems are the existing commercial or technical
systems that manage the business processes of the utility. They communicate
with the CAS using interface SI3.

> Read full chapter

Smart Meters and Advanced Metering

Infrastructure
João F. Martins, ... Mihai Sanduleac, in Pathways to a Smarter Power System, 2019

4.2.2 Issues and Drawbacks of AMI

Some AMI issues relate to consumer privacy and confidentiality, while the remaining
ones relate to unauthorized access to the devices, creating cyber security issues.

On the consumer side, users need to protect their data, creating the need for a
proper data management through anonymization of data. End-users may find it
hard to verify that the new meter is accurate, there is no way to protect the privacy
of the personal data collected, and there may be an additional fee for the installation
of the new meter.

The utility companies need to be sure that the data is accurate, and that no physical
or cyber-attack to the meter occur. To achieve this, several cyber security measures
can be taken, namely: confidentiality, integrity, authorization, and authentication
of the exchanged data. These measures can help to prevent some of the following
cyber-attacks: eavesdropping, traffic analysis, replay, message modification, imper-
sonation, denial of service, and malware. However, due to the current processing
power of some SM and SG systems, most cyber security countermeasures cannot
be implemented. Furthermore, the costs in terms of personnel training, equipment
development, and production to change to a new technology and new set of
processes are higher. Managing negative public reactions and ensuring customer
acceptance of the new meters are also difficult matters. In addition, making a
long-term financial commitment to the new metering technology and the related
software involved raises financial problems, managing and storing vast quantities
of the metering data collected raises huge technical problems, and ensuring the
security and privacy of metering data is still not a closed issue.

> Read full chapter

Smart Grids
DrC.R. Bayliss CEng FIET, B.J. Hardy CEng FIET, in Transmission and Distribution
Electrical Engineering (Fourth Edition), 2012

27.3.2 Smart Metering

The smart meter or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is intended to provide a
real-time communications link between the consumers and utilities so as to allow:
Time of Use (ToU) tariff schemes, whereby consumers are encouraged to shift
their consumption from peak to off-peak (and lower price) periods. However,
this non-dynamic approach to demand side load control and the associated
large-scale system integration of such actions may merely shift the peak load
time to no overall advantage.
Real-Time Pricing (RTP) arrangements where hourly or half hourly price
changes are built into the tariff structure to reflect changes in supply and
demand. The structures are intended to provide incentives for consumers to
limit consumption when the wholesale price of electricity is high and increase
consumption during lower rate periods.
Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) is a more realistic alternative to full Real-Time Pricing
(RTP). The tariff arrangements are intended to augment a time-invariant or
Time of Use (ToU) rate structure with a dispatchable high or ‘critical’ price
during periods of system stress. Such a critical price could occur for a lim-
ited number of discretionary periods (days) during the year or when system
or market demands meet a pre-defined condition. Participating consumers
would receive notification of the dispatchable high price (typically at least a
day in advance for large customers) and in some cases would be provided with
automated control technologies to support efficient load shedding. Such
CPP arrangements are less efficient than full RTP schemes. However, they
are considered to be more politically acceptable, as they reduce the potentially
large sudden price risks for consumers associated with RTP.
Home Area Networking (HAN) allows multiple devices to work together to create
home energy management systems. It is seen as a fundamental building block
in AMI.

In addition, another advantage of smart meters is that they are able to report back to
the utility control centre in near real-time non-technical losses (e.g. tampering with
meters, bypassing meters and illicit tapping into distribution systems).

Major programmes of smart meter installation are already underway in Europe.

ENEL (Ente Nazionale per l’Energia eLettrica, Italy’s largest utility) installed nearly
27 million smart meters in the five years from 2002 to 2007 with an investment of
some 2.2 billion Euros. Similarly, EdF (Electricite de France) started an installation of
35 million smart meters in France in July 2008. Further, in the UK, some 47 million
gas and electricity meters are being replaced in a £8.6bn programme, assisted by
Government Capital Grants, such that a smart meter will be installed in every home
by 2020.

At the current stage in the development of smart metering the practical aspects of
such projects are many and varied. Further information is available in the references
at the end of this chapter.
> Read full chapter

Smart meters for improved energy de-

mand management
R. Bago, M. Campos, in Eco-Friendly Innovation in Electricity Transmission and
Distribution Networks, 2015

16.1 Introduction
The deployment of an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is one of the fun-
damental early steps to be taken in grid modernization, as it represents the direct
inclusion of one of the main stakeholders of the electricity grid – the consumers.

AMI is much more than the selection and deployment of a specific metering
technology; it is a new arrangement of utilities processes and applications not only
for collecting meter reads but also to integrate their final customers as active players
in the daily grid operations, increasing the added value of the services to be deployed
by the utilities.

16.1.1 Key components of an AMI

The infrastructure included in the AMI refers to:

1. smart meters and data concentrators,

2. wide-area communication network (WAN),

3. meter data central (MDC) system,

4. meter data management (MDM) system,

5. home area network (HAN).

These components are described briefly herein.

Smart meters are solid-state electronic electricity meters supporting not only the
measurement of electricity consumption but also additional smart functionalities
as hourly electricity consumption, time-based load control, remote connection and
disconnection of delivery site, tamper detection, etc. The operation of all these
functionalities can be remotely configured and customized in the metering devices,
and they are also remotely managed and gathered either on demand or on a
scheduled basis.
Data concentrators are used to concentrate the communication and management
of a set of smart meters into one single device, facilitating the gathering of the
information from the smart meters, grouping the communications to them, and
therefore reducing the cost of the overall operations. Data concentrators, if present,
can communicate with their set of smart meters using different technologies such
as power line carrier (PLC), wireless, etc.

WANs provide continuous communication between the different components of

the AMI platform, as data concentrators and the AMI MDC system, employing
bidirectional communication channels. Used technologies can also vary from 3G
wireless communication channels to broadband PLC, optical fiber, wireless radio,
etc. Wide-area networks provide transparent links between the metering infrastruc-
ture installed on sites and the MDC system, being the infrastructure base of the set
of machine-to-machine (M2M) services built on top of them.

MDC system is the set of software tools and utilities required to gather data from
every single smart meter and concentrator to a unique central database, as well as to
operate the smart metering infrastructure to keep it up and running, implementing
the required utility operational routines and services (either internal or outsourced).
MDC system is also in charge of interfacing with other utility systems, either to
provide them with required meter data or as a gateway to the infrastructure to
implement on-demand services over the devices.

MDM system includes a set of software tools and databases, built on top of the MDC
system, whose primary functions include the validation, estimation, and editing
(VEE) of meter data that are later passed to other utility systems, as billing systems,
even in case of disruption of meter data flows. MDM functionalities can usually be
distributed over other systems instead of being present as separate systems. It is
common practice to find utilities with basic VEE functionalities incorporated as part
of their customer information system (CIS) or as part of the newly deployed MDC
system.

HANs are implemented at residential consumer places to manage consumers' in-

stalled in-home devices as (1) displays to present instantaneous electricity consump-
tion, time-based electricity prices, planned outages, etc. and (2) load control devices
as load switches, thermostats, etc. These HANs link the smart meters to in-home
installed controllable electrical devices. To make extensive use of HAN, customers
are usually asked to register for different electricity services offered by the utilities by
way of the utilities' portals. Those services are later provided based on the arranged
HAN.

Figure 16.1 shows the different components of a usual smart metering solution.

Figure 16.1. Smart metering. WAN, wide-area communication network; OSGP,
Open Smart Grid Protocol; VPN, virtual private network; DLMS-IDIS, device lan-
guage message specification - interoperable device interface specfication; ADMS,
advance distribution management system.

16.1.2 The benefits of AMI platforms

Although it is recognized that deployments of most advanced AMI platforms in the
European Nordic countries have been driven by regulatory factors, these deploy-
ments provide benefits to all parties involved, including the utilities, consumers, and
society in general.

For the utilities, the deployment of the AMI platform immediately allows them to
move from a traditional manual reading process, which is less accurate and can be
run only a few times a year because of its cost, to an automated reading process
providing the utilities with reliable and accurate consumption data on a daily basis.
Utilities are therefore able to not only know current daily electricity use in a matter of
hours but also to estimate in a much better and accurate way the expected electricity
immediate future use from their customers, increasing the overall grid operation
efficiency.

AMI platforms also constitute a great opportunity for utilities to improve their
relationship with their customers, as utilities are capable of invoicing them for their
real electricity consumption every single invoicing period, avoiding intermediate
 estimated invoicing processes. They are also capable of offering new remote services
to their customers, such as immediate remote electricity reconnection of customer
sites, information and alarms about planned outages, etc., increasing customer
satisfaction and fidelity.

As a consequence of these new services offered by the utilities, customers can

also benefit from the deployment of AMI platforms. Already mentioned services, as
information and alarms for planned outages, information about hourly electricity
prices, deployment of HAN infrastructure, etc., will provide customers with a good
set of tools to increase the efficiency of their electricity use, accommodating it
to the cheapest hours. Customers will become the drivers of utility energy peak
reduction by the way of demand response services implementation, benefiting from
lower utilities electricity cost and, therefore, lower prices.

As the deployment and operation of an AMI platform is a win–win exercise for both
the utility and its customers, it will lead to improved overall grid operation as well
as to much more cost-efficient electricity delivery and use, with its corresponding
favorable environmental impact. This impact can even be increased as the use and
deployment of distributed energy resources (DER) is also becoming more and more
usual, and for which an AMI platform is a key and basic component.

> Read full chapter

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