Grinpal Energy Management has developed its second-generation AMR system (automatic electricity meter reading) which it says will increase utilities' revenue, prevent electricity fraud and increase the quality of service.
"We have taken a novel approach in the design enhancements from our first generation system and are now able to offer municipalities and electricity utilities a range of systems that will match specific local requirements. Substantial improvements on the ease of installation and maintenance have been achieved, automating many processes that were previously driven by a paper system," says Gert Gous, managing executive of Grinpal.
Electricity fraud has become a major business concern ranging from illegal connection, to bypassing of the meter on a permanent basis to the 'weekend bypassers'. The 'weekend bypasser' leaves the meter in circuit during week days, but bypasses it over the weekend when most electricity is being consumed, in this way reducing the individual bill but losing revenue for the utility.
Grinpal offers several metering options. The most versatile is the integrated services management system (ISMS), which can be deployed with a split or non split meter. The ISMS provides realtime information on important parameters and has the ability to automatically implement connections and disconnections. The system also detects and reacts to any breach of system integrity such as tampering or genuine breakdowns.
The communications technology combines Powerline Carrier, trunked radio, GSM, GPRS and RS485 communication to optimise operational costs. Customers are issued with a credit card-sized card encoded with the meter number and they can purchase units of electricity from ATM-type machines at local authority offices or other venues.
Grinpal has also developed a compact cell concentrator, typically one per transformer area, which it says greatly reduces communication costs. It collects information from individual meters, concentrates the information, while maintaining the integrity of each individual meter, and communicates this in realtime with the control centre. The company says it opted for the fully online integrated approach which overcomes the problems associated with other systems such as drive-by systems that are open to fraud and intimidation.
For more information contact Linda Weaver, Saab Grintek, +27 (0)12 672 8216, [email protected]
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