IBM

Today’s utilities rely on a system of out-dated meters to determine resource usage and to turn service on or off. However, regulatory and market pressures now require that utilities improve network reliability, decrease response time to resolve service issues, and lower costs associated with service requests. Because their aging meters are not connected to the network infrastructure, utilities face the following challenges and obstacles:

• Costly human resources are required to turn service on and off, to read the meter to ensure accurate billing and power usage, and to identify meter tampering.
• Inability to determine actual resource use in real-time prevents the utility from understanding actual usage or from implementing time-based billing.
• Meeting the growing demand for power requires that expensive new power plant and transmission capacity be built unless load control can be implemented. Utilities must create new systems and services to motivate consumers to reduce power usage.

The IBM and Cisco Advanced Meter Management Solution

This joint solution is comprised of a state-of-the-art meter management system designed to provide utilities with accurate resource usage data in real-time, enabling informed decision-making, driving the delivery of new services, and significantly reducing operating costs.

Utilizing a secure, reliable IP-enabled network, the Advanced Meter Management solution automatically collects meter information, aggregates it, and transports the data in real-time over wireless and wire-line networks. This gives the utility the ability to extract meaningful customer usage data, which assists with identifying and locating outages, generating load profiles for resource planning, and enabling time-based customer billing. Two-way communication with the meter now allows control functions (e.g. curtailment, connect/disconnect) to be activated remotely, instead of via time-consuming and costly human intervention.

Ultimately, the joint IBM & Cisco Advanced Meter Management solution will provide utility companies with the following benefits:

• Automated collection and transport of meter information over wireless and wire-line networks improves workforce productivity and assists with identifying outages and generating load profiles.
• Zero touch service: Two-way communication with the meter allows remote control functions without on-site human intervention.
• Time-of-use billing helps provide incentive to customers to reduce peak consumption.
• Improved theft detection: Better information helps identify and terminate unauthorized use.

Contact your local IBM or Cisco representative to learn how you can implement an IBM and Cisco Advanced Meter Management Solution.

Learn more about other IBM and Cisco Utilities Network Revitalization Solutions including Mobile Workforce Management and Asset Lifecycle Management.