Underground Construction - June 2018 - 14

Smart Gas in the Smart City
single month, let alone an entire
year. With real-time corrosion
monitoring, utilities get daily
readings so they can prepare,
versus react.
This can also allow them to
redeploy highly skilled corrosion
specialists to focus on maintenance, not data collection. Real-time corrosion monitoring allows a crew to perform work that
used to take a full day, but now
can be accomplished in less than
five minutes.
In addition to trends across
utilities, each utility has specific
driving factors that affect the
implementation of a smart offering. But prior to choosing among
available platforms, what factors
should be considered to ensure
the best investment?

To accommodate growth in
customer base, utilities must
invest in a network that is upgradable and allows for additional applications as they develop.
Utilities don't want new technology to outdate - or outgrow
- their established network. It
must be able to expand and extend to uses not even conceived
of today.
Another vital aspect that
weighs heavily on decision-makers' minds is information privacy. The utility communication
network should be private to ensure consumer and utility security. Even when a communication
network is private, but shared
among utility "neighbors," it's
imperative that security firewalls
are impenetrable and the system
can handle ever-growing use.

Bright future
The future is even brighter with
the latest advancements in cutting-edge technology. Ultrasonic
meter technology, for example,
offers gas utilities next-generation capabilities featuring a footprint about the size of a computer tablet and a battery life of 20
years. This newest, solid-state
gas meter serves as the ultimate
multitasker, not only measuring usage but also monitoring
pressure, detecting theft and enabling remote shutoff.
Data and analytics continue to
evolve in today's technology-driven business environment. Implementing a smart gas solution
gives utilities the ability to access
more data more often, ultimately
optimizing service, operational efficiency and system safety. Smart
will be the new norm.

As the paradigm of utility
delivery and consumption continues to shift and technology
applications advance daily, it's
critical for gas utilities to continue looking to AMI and other
solutions that will place them at
the forefront of the smart city
movement and capitalize on the
promise of smart gas solutions.
About the
Author:
Dan Bennett is the
director of Global
Gas Marketing at
Sensus. He earned
a BS degree in both
electrical engineering and computer engineering from
North Carolina State University in
Raleigh, N.C.

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Underground Construction - June 2018

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