Smart Metering Concepts and Trends in Germany

EGATEC, Copenhagen, May 12th/13th, 2011

Manfred Hoppe, Peter Schley

Motivations for Smart Metering

Political Energy efficiency / CO2 reduction Pricing transparency / consumer protection Energy suppliers Improvement of the billing process New possibilities for customer service and sales products . . . to bidirectional communication From manual data reading . . .

Smart Metering Regulatory Framework in the EU/Germany

Customer is entitled to demand smart meters for metering electricity, gas, district heat, water and hot water consumption EU Directive 2006/32/EU Art. 13 From 1 January 2010, obligation to use smart meters in new or extensively renovated buildings German Energy Industry Act Sec. 21b (3a) . . . or in existing metering systems if requested by the customer Sec. 21b (3b) Obligation of energy suppliers: tariffs depending on load/ time of day to be introduced for electricity end users by 30 December 2010. German Energy Ind. Act Sec. 40 (3)

Right of customer: energy suppliers are obligated to make out intra-year invoices if requested by the customer German Energy Ind. Act Sec. 40 (2)

Condition: if technically feasible and economically reasonable

EU Directive Transposed into National Law (I)

Sec. 21 of German Energy Industry Act: From 1 January 2010, meters ....that reflect the final customer's actual energy consumption and that provide information on actual time of use More specific requirements in position paper of Federal Network Agency

Electricity meter

EDL 21 meter as minimum standard

Gas meter

- Meter with additional or integrated display showing consumption of preceding day / week / month in kWh - No remote meter reading, but interface available

- Meter with additional or integrated display showing consumption of preceding day / week / month in m3 (kWh not necessary)

EDL 21 meter costs are accepted as operating expenses in the regulated market.

EU Directive Transposed into National Law (II)

Sec. 40 of German Energy Industry Act: From 1 January 2010, suppliers are obligated to bill energy costs for periods not substantially exceeding twelve months. If the customer wishes, the supplier is obligated to invoice the customer on a monthly, quarterly or halfyearly basis. Remote meter reading is an economically viable option for billing periods shorter than one year. Solution: smart meters with remote meter reading EDL 40 meter
Remote billing

Smart meter

EDL 40 meter costs are not accepted as operating expenses in the regulated market.

Smart Residential Gas Meters

Type of meter Diaphragm meter Manufacturer
- Elster Kromschrder - Itron - Flonidan - and others . . .

Features
Mechanical measurement principle Reliable, low price Current trend towards replacing mechanical by electronic counters Remote meter reading option Thermal mass flow measurement MID-approved Measurement principle dependent on gas properties; only for H-gas Acceptance currently limited Measurement of ultrasonic wave transit times Costs still a disadvantage May be competitive in smart metering applications Meters being launched

Thermal meter

- Diehl Gas Meter

Ultrasonic meter

- Landis and Gyr

Control center/ data acquisition & management

Smart Metering System Overview

PC communication

Data presentation options for customer

Separate display

Metering

Electricity (master)

Gas

Water

Control center/ data acquisition & management GPRS

Smart Metering Communication Concepts

Webservice for customers Inhouse PC-communication GPRS Internet

Alternatively Data concentrator (e.g. at transformer station) Communication via power line

M-bus (cable or wireless)

Smart Meter Communication with Multi-Utility Controller

Control center/ data acquisition & management GPRS PC communication Webservice for customers Internet Separate display Multi-utility controller (MUC) M-bus (cable or wireless)

Data concentrator
(e.g. at transformer station)

Communication via power line

Smart Meter Communication with Multi-Utility Controller

GPRS Power line

Separate unit dedicated for meter data communication Connectivity for electricity, gas, water und heat meters by M-bus cable or wireless WAN communication options GPRS or power line

Multi-utility controller (MUC)

Ethernet/ IP interface Home network

IP interface for customer applications Use of protocols selected for future European standardisation

M-bus cable

M-bus wireless

(approx. 1,000 gas meters)

10,000 Meter Pilot Project of E.ON Bavaria

Web application
Display consumption

Select time period

Experience from E.ON 10,000 Meter Pilot Project

Customer acceptance Over 90 % of the voluntary - participants in the pilot project are interested in the further use of the smart meter system Transparency of consumption and costs is the main focus and has higher priority than potential energy savings Regarding consumers as a whole, only a minority is interested in smart meter services, especially when additional costs are to be expected Privacy protection issue In Germany, energy consumption data are subject to privacy regulations; thus encryption methods are necessary for data transfer and data processing EDL21 meter displays open to third parties must be protected, e.g. by PIN code

Vision: The Intelligent Home as Part of a Future Smart Grid

Webservice for customers Control center Grid operator virtual power plant

Internet

Demand side management

Electrical appliance 1 Electrical appliance 2

Communication gateway
el. generation

Decentralised electricity generation (CHP)

El. consumption

El. feed-in

Electricity grid Gas grid

Smart Metering: Conclusions

Standardisation is necessary and on the way according to EU mandate Country-specific conditions and regulations for the implementation of smart metering will remain in Europe, influencing the cost / benefit relation Customers, energy suppliers, and grid operators are main stakeholders in smart metering technology, each of them pursuing their own interests Potential benefits of smart metering gas are lower than benefits of smart metering electricity Smart metering communication is the nucleus for future smart grid communication

Thank you for your attention