Energy Biz - September/October 2008 - (Page 70) » Guidebook (MeterinG and data ManaGeMent) the company will use a more expensive power line carrier to send information back to Oncor. The company is still determining how the information will be viewed by operations, said Mark Carpenter, Oncor’s vice president and chief information officer. But in general, the information will make the operators’ jobs easier. “It makes the operators’ jobs more efficient and more effective, to provide a higher quality of service,” he said. No additional operators will be needed, but the company likely will increase the number of technicians working on the advanced meters and the information relay systems, Carpenter said. He expects that Oncor will also increase the number of data analysts to evaluate the information coming from the meters. Still, Oncor insists that the long-term benefits will outweigh the costs. One longer-term savings could be in eliminating the need for new transmission lines as customers reduce their demand for power. The company plans to begin installing the advanced meters later this year in a pilot project in Rockwall, a suburb of Dallas. Then, the company will install more meters in the surrounding areas, and continue deployment for the next four years, installing about 900,000 meters a year. Oncor will use two different systems to relay the information back to the company. In the heavily populated urban areas, Oncor will use radio signals that will transmit the information to a collection point that will then transmit information back to Oncor. In more sparsely populated areas of Oncor’s territory, cusp of a revolution By CAMERON O’REiLLy againsT The backdrop of soaring energy costs and an aging electricity grid, the United States is on the cusp of a smart meter revolution. Leading U.S. utilities increasingly recognize that smart meters — small, powerful communications tools — will form the foundation for a national, energy-efficient smart grid distribution network needed to secure, protect and conserve power supply. Smart meter solutions do that by providing utilities with a two-way flow of data required to manage energy use, efficiency, and demand response and network protection. Consumers Cameron O’Reilly benefit from lower (Guest OpiniOn) energy costs and, crucially, a reduced carbon footprint. Every day the headlines remind us that we live in an era of skyrocketing energy costs and unrelenting consumption. Yet energy production is not keeping up and much is lost through aging grid infrastructure. Energy conservation is crucial — it is the fifth fuel after coal, natural gas, nuclear, and renewables such as wind and solar. Conservation must be supported by sophisticated, technologically advanced management systems critical to meeting energy demand while reducing costs and improving the environment. That is exactly what smart meter solutions accomplish. They allow consumers to better understand and manage their energy use. That gives consumers control, so that they can make more informed decisions to use power efficiently and effectively. After all, you can’t fix what you can’t measure. A recent California study found smart meters allowed consumers to cut energy bills by up to Oracle Utilities Integrated. Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. 70 308M00435_UTL_MoreComplete.indd 1 E n E rgyB i z September/October 2008 2/12/08 4:00:05 PM http://oracle.com/industries/utilities
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