At 2020 there will be about seven million smart gas meters installed in the Netherlands, using batteries that are supposed to last for about 20 years. The long lifetime of the batteries is crucial, because an operation to replace them would be on a large scale and therefore expensive. Distribution System Operators (DSO’s) have to be able to rely on a lengthy lifetime. The Dutch DSO’s Netherlands (within Netbeheer Nederland), joined forces to carry out a unique study of the predicted and actual battery lifetime. In this study, batteries were examined from gas meters that had already been operating for 4-5 years. The results were promising: after 4-5 years: the actual (practical) lifetime of the batteries examined turned out to be in line with the predicted (theoretical) values.

1. METERING.COM
ISSUE 2 | 2013
Breaking Through the Connectivity Barrier
Advanced PLC Modem SoC
EV8000 Series
AMI gas and water • Smart metering in UK • Batteries
Smart Energy International

2. METERING.COM
METERING.COM
ISSUE - 2 | 2013
METERING INTERNATIONAL
C O N T E N T S
ISSUE 2 | 2013
AMI & SMARt MEtERInG
18
AMI trends and developments in gas and water utilities
20
Smart gas metering in Europe - an untapped opportunity?
24
Towards meter reading interoperability at American Water
28
Lessons from the island: Smart metering in Great Britain
30
Interoperability – top down or bottom up?
68
Global water meter market update: Back to the basics
By Joseph Turgeon
By Daniella Muallem
Issue 2 2013
By David Hughes
By Richard St Clair
By Nigel Orchard
By Nicole Tuggle
Breaking Through the Connectivity Barrier
PREPAyMEnt
Prepayment: The energy conservation impact in US
By Cindy O’Dwyer
EV8000 Series
www.metering.com
58
Advanced PLC Modem SoC
BUSInESS / FInAncE / REGULAtoRy
34
70
Understanding declining water sales and utility revenues
72
EnVerv provides advanced PLC SoC solution
for AMI and energy management applications.
These are developed on the belief that every
node in the network needs to be connected
reliably and with enough robust bit rates
to account for today’s applications and
tomorrow’s feature rich ones.
Getting ready to roll in Britain – smart procurement strategies
Developing a heat metering specification. ASTM International Technical Committee
E44.25 partners with global metering industry
By John Peters
By Janice A. Beecher and Thomas Chesnutt
By Christine DeJong
www.enverv.com
BILLInG & cUStoMER SERvIcE
76
Payment transactions and claims management in the German energy industry:
Deteriorating payment behaviour and increasing influence of smart metering
By trend:research
SMART ENERGY
MEtER DAtA
66
Considerations in implementing a meter data analytics solution
38
By Mary Rich and Irshad James
The European supergrid is
inevitable
By Ana Aguado Cornago
European supergrid
MEtER tESt & FIELD SERvIcE
82
42
mSure – a new technique for ensuring stable high accuracy over the lifetime of an
electric meter
By JED Hurwitz
coMPonEntS
78
Investigations into the lifetime of gas meter batteries in the Netherlands
87
46
AES Eletropaulo’s smart grid program
52
Global EV outlook: Assessment of electric
vehicle progress
56
G.hn powers smart grid evolution
By Livia Rosu and John Egan
Will any disaster wake America up to its water problem?
By Vincent Caprio
WorldView
4
Editorial
14
Water is your business
4
Current Affairs
12
Association news
SWAN – activities in the
water industry
16
Brazil’s path to smart electric grids
88
Index to Advertisers
By Michael Deane
By André Pepitone da Nóbrega
G.hn
By Maria Tereza Moyses Travassos Vellano and Paulo Roberto de
Souza Pimentel
By Electric Vehicles Initiative
REGULARS
Latin America
By Dan Waddle
By Horst Reuning and Machiel Joosse
LASt WoRD
Global EV Alliance
Smart Grid Alliance for the
Americas: Support to rural utilities
Published by:

3. CURRENT AFFAIRS
CURRENT AFFAIRS CURRENT AFFAIRS CURRENT AFFAIRS CURRENT AFFAIRS CURRENT AFFAIRS CURRENT AFFAIRS
editoriaL
Looking towards the utiLity of the future
We make no apologies for once again focussing strongly on water in this
issue. While water is obviously a resource with different characteristics
to energy, the challenges faced by water utilities – conceptually at
least – are very similar to those of their counterparts in energy, such
as reducing losses, accurately billing, securing revenue, and building
customer relationships – all of which contribute to the making of a more
operationally efficient, financially secure and sustainable utility.
These challenges are leading to the increasing deployment of advanced
metering infrastructure in water utilities, and with it increasingly moves
towards smarter water networks (p. 12, 14, 18, 24).
Another issue that has been attracting much discussion of late is the
future of utilities in a scenario where consumers are being encouraged
to conserve resources by reducing demand, leading to flat or declining
sales and consequently utility revenues (p.70). Undoubtedly greater
operational efficiencies are able to offset at least part of such losses
but water utilities may also need to look to developing alternative
sources of revenue, such as alternative end uses of water or the offer of
efficiency services or equipment.
Similar trends are being observed for energy utilities and a new study
from Ernst & Young1, released just as this issue was going to press,
observes an emergence of ancillary services markets – for example
home energy management services, secure home services, mobility
services – and finds that this is one of the key growth opportunities
for power companies. According to this report, success will depend on
learning lessons from other sectors such as banking and telecoms, as
well as on the acquisition of the necessary competencies and skills.
Without doubt the utility of the future will be different to that of today,
but those that are successful will have “a robust forward view,” according
to the Ernst & Young report. Such companies are more outward looking
and market focussed, respond smartly to change, understand what
drives costs and value, and engage closely with stakeholders.
Jonathan Spencer Jones
Editor
jonathan.spencerjones@spintelligent.com
1. Business Pulse. Exploring dual perspectives on the top 10 risks and opportunities in 2013 and beyond.
Ernst & Young 2013.
C
M
Y
renewabLe energy, aMi top sMart grid driver
and technoLogy gLobaLLy
Renewable energy standards and targets are the top motivating drivers for smart
grids globally, while advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is the top technology
priority, according to a recent study from the International Smart Grid Action
Network (ISGAN).
The other top motivating drivers in order are:
• System efficiency improvements
• Reliability improvements
• Enabling customer choice and participation
• Enabling new products, services, and markets.
The other top technology priorities are:
• Large-size variable renewable energy sources integration
• Demand response
• Wind
• Distributed energy resources.
The study, ‘Smart grid drivers and technologies by country, economies, and
continent’, was based on a survey of the then (September 2012) 22 ISGAN
participants. It forms part of the initiative to develop a global smart grid inventory.
When broken down by economies the picture change, somewhat, particularly
for the developing economy participants. In this case the top driver is reliability
improvements, and the top technology priority is condition-based monitoring and
maintenance.
Similarly there are also differences when broken down by continent. System
efficiency improvement is the only driver of priority and AMI is the only technology
of priority to all continents.
steering coMMittee
to deveLop sMart grid
roadMap in phiLippines
The Philippines Department of Energy has
created an inter-agency steering committee to
develop a national smart grid policy framework
and roadmap.
The members of the committee include the
DOE, which will also serve as chair, National
Power Corporation (NPC), National Transmission
Corporation (TransCo), National Electrification
Administration (NEA), National Grid Corporation
of the Philippines (NGCP), and Philippine
Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC).
Specific deliverables of the committee include
a national smart grid strategy to 2030 with a
consideration of the impact on electricity prices,
along with transition policies and guidelines
and a roadmap with timelines for smart grid
implementation. A customer education and
information framework will also be developed.
The committee will also be responsible
for tapping funding from bilateral or
multilateral funding institutions to finance
smart grid initiatives, and for monitoring the
implementation of the smart grid.
In the next step of the initiative individual national projects will be assessed for
inclusion in the project inventory.
www.iea-isgan.org
4
Several power industry participants, among them
Meralco, have already started implementing
smart grid initiatives.
www.doe.gov.ph
METERING INTERNATIONAL ISSUE - 2 | 2013
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K

4. COMPONENTS
INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE
LIFETIME OF GAS METER
BATTERIES IN THE NETHERLANDS
By Horst Reuning and Machiel Joosse
By 2020 there will be about seven million smart
gas meters installed in the Netherlands, using
batteries that are supposed to last for about 20
years. The long lifetime of the batteries is crucial,
because an operation to replace them would be
on a large scale and therefore expensive. The
Dutch DSOs (within Netbeheer Nederland) joined
forces to carry out a unique study of predicted
and actual battery lifetimes. In this study,
batteries were examined from gas meters that
had already been operating for 4-5 years. The
results were promising: after 4-5 years, the actual
(practical) lifetime of the batteries examined
turned out to be in line with the predicted
(theoretical) values.
In the coming years millions of smart meters will
Table 1 – Gas meters selected for battery testing
be installed in the Netherlands. Smart electricity
meters are powered via the mains. Smart gas
The batteries and meters involved had been used in different ways.
meters, however, are not connected up to the mains and have to
The three use cases for the same type of Flonidan wired M-Bus gas
have their own power supply: a battery.
meter were particularly interesting, because these included:
• Unused meters (in storage since 2007), no communication
According to the Dutch Smart Meter Requirements (DSMR4.0), the
• Meters that had been operating from October 2007 to April
latest generation meter is supposed to function for 20 years including
2012, communicating once per hour
the battery. But is that realistic? The Dutch DSOs, cooperating within
• Meters that had been operating from May 2008 to May 2012,
Netbeheer Nederland, have no field experience that battery powered
communicating 180 times per hour!
meters can meet that requirement or have seen this demonstrated in
reality. There is a lot of scepticism about whether a lifetime of 15 to
PROJECT APPROACH
20 years can be achieved in a battery.
The project approach and timeline is illustrated in Figure 1.
A decision was taken at Netbeheer Nederland to carry out a
After their removal from the gas meters, the batteries were
study of the batteries in the first smart electronic gas meters that
marked with unique numbers and sent to Tadiran with no further
had been installed (in 2007 and 2008).
explanation of the use cases. In the first instance, the information
about power consumption and use case for the various batteries
The investigation was unusual in that it was the first time
anywhere in the world, as far as is known,
that a battery supplier (Tadiran), gas meter
manufacturers (Flonidan DC and Landis+Gyr) and
Dutch DSOs jointly carried out such a study and
openly published the results (first presented at
Metering, Billing/CRM Europe in Amsterdam in
October 2012). The study was carried out from
June to October 2012 by a number of technical
specialists from Netbeheer Netherland, the battery
supplier, and technicians from the gas meter
manufacturers. This study of the batteries was
part of the larger smart metering programme at
Netbeheer Nederland.
METHOD AND PROJECT DESIGN
Smart gas meters for the study came from three Dutch
DSOs, DELTA Netwerkbedrijf, ENEXIS and STEDIN. The
gas meters, both wireless and wired M-Bus, came from
various use cases, as detailed in Table 1.
78
Figure 1 – Project timeline
METERING INTERNATIONAL ISSUE - 2 | 2013

5. COMPONENTS
Figure 3 - Long term test, D-cell @RT under various continuous loads. Test is being continued
BATTERY INVESTIGATIONS
Figure 2 – Measurement set-up
was not disclosed. The battery manufacturer was only given this
information after the residual capacity of the batteries had been
determined.
The team from Netbeheer Nederland examined the electronics,
together with the gas meter manufacturer. Important questions to
be answered here were whether:
• The age of the component has an effect on the energy
consumption, and
• The measured energy consumption is in line with the original
values that were used for the lifetime calculation.
A digital multimeter was used to measure the idle current of the gas
meter electronics and an oscilloscope combined with a measurement
resistor was used to measure the current peaks/profile.
t
as
ol
ov
pr
t
en
5y
2
r
ea
s
Lithium thionyl chloride batteries
The high voltage (3.6 V), high energy content (19 Ah in a D size cell),
and low self-discharge rate (typically 0.5% per year) are the decisive
features that make lithium thionyl chloride (Li/SOCl2) batteries
the number one choice for long term standalone power sources
like those needed for a 20 year gas meter. Tadiran has more than
40 years’ experience with this technology. Customers like Aclara
(formerly Hexagram) have installed Tadiran AA size lithium batteries
in their AMR devices 25 years ago and report that these devices are
still operating on their original batteries.
Lifetime calculation model
However, prediction of battery life in a particular application
requires more than customer testimonials. Long term real life
tests under continuous and pulse loads at different levels have
been conducted for many years (Figure 3). Self-discharge rates
have been determined at different temperatures and under
Smart Metering
requires reliable power sources
Tadiran Batteries GmbH | Industriestr. 22 | 63654 BÜDINGEN | GERMANY
Tel: +49 6042 954-0 | Fax: +49 6042 954-190 | E-mail: info@tadiranbatteries.de
Download our applic at ion guide from w w w.tadiranbat ter ies.co.uk >> Produc t s >> Applic at ions >> Bat ter ies for smar t ut ilit y meters

6. COMPONENTS
different load currents. Cell components
were carefully selected, modified, and
tested before the formula for a 20-year
battery was found. Tadiran’s lifetime
calculation model takes the battery
composition into account as well as the
related self-discharge rate and internal
resistance. The result is a function of the
application current profile, temperature
profile, and minimum application voltage.
While considerable effort has been made on
the battery manufacturer’s side to develop
and improve the batteries and their life
calculation model, a thorough study of field
application life data has not previously been
performed.
Investigation methods
The task allocated to Tadiran was to
determine the residual capacity of lithium
cells returned by Netbeheer. Two different
methods were used for this investigation.
• Electrical discharge. This method was
a straightforward electrical discharge
where the discharge rate is accelerated
compared to the current consumption
of the gas meter. Determination of
the proper load is a trade-off between
accuracy and test duration because these
lithium batteries are optimized for a 20year battery life and not for a laboratory
test usually taking only a few weeks.
Figure 4: Results – case DNWB (Flonidan Pre NTA wired M-bus meters)
AA cells from the Flonidan gas meters were
discharged on 1,800 Ω continuous load to
2 V. D-cells from the Landis+Gyr gas meters
were discharged in two steps on 560 Ω and
later on 180 Ω.
• Chemical titration. Under these loads,
a certain percentage of the residual
capacity is not accessible due to an
increase of the internal resistance of
the battery. Therefore titration was
applied to a subset of the investigated
batteries as a second, more rigorous
method. This method is based on
a chemical reaction and consumes
literally all the residual lithium metal
in a battery. Batteries were opened,
internal parts such as the cathode,
current collector and separator were
removed, and the residual lithium
was dissolved in water, yielding a
basic aqueous solution. Finally, the
lithium content was determined by
the amount of acid required for its
neutralization.
Figure 5: Results – case Stedin (Landis+Gyr E6V meters)
RESULTS
Tadiran examined 10 batteries by
discharging them through a load resistor.
This method discharges a battery more
quickly.
A resistance of 560 Ω was used initially.
However, at the end of August it became
clear that this discharge rate would only
80
Figure 6: Results – case Enexis (Flonidan Pre NTA wireless M-bus meters)
METERING INTERNATIONAL ISSUE - 2 | 2013

7. COMPONENTS
yield results at the end of 2012. After consultation with Netbeheer
Nederland, it was then decided that the resistance should be
reduced to 180 Ω in order to obtain results by the time of the
Metering, Billing/CRM Europe 2012 event. The average capacity
discharged was 14.14 Ah. In addition, 3 of the 10 cells were also
investigated by titration after having been discharged; this revealed
an additional residual capacity of 0.86 Ah.
CONCLUSION
Tadiran’s results give two extreme limits for the measured residual
capacity:
• Minimum, where the battery is ‘emptied’ at an accelerated rate
via residual discharge
• Maximum, by titration.
It is assumed that the actual residual capacity available will be
somewhere between these two limits. The calculation of the
expected remaining battery life is based on the arithmetic average
of the two, i.e. (residual discharge result + titration result) / 2.
The results from the gas meters examined, which had been in use
for four to five years, showed the following:
• Remaining lifetime after normal usage, with communication
once an hour:
Landis+Gyr E6V >16 years
• Flonidan wired M-Bus >17 years
Flonidan wireless M-Bus >20 years
• The residual cell capacity matches or exceeds the expected life as
originally calculated
The number of measurements made on the gas meter electronics
investigated was not sufficient to allow any conclusive statements
to be made about the influence of ageing on power consumption.
Further studies, particularly using gas meters and batteries that have
been operational for a longer period of time, would be able to give
even more reliable results. This study and method of approach may
be a suitable starting point for such work at other DSOs worldwide.
Openly publishing the results of such studies, as was done in this
case, will maximize the usefulness for all parties involved and help
ensure that smart meters can be installed successfully in Europe and
the rest of the world. MI
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Horst Reuning has an electrotechnical background and worked in the
industrial battery industry for decades in the field of sales and marketing.
He worked for Sonnenschein Lithium/Tadiran for almost 20 years in total,
since 2001 as their sales and marketing manager. In April 2012 he retired
and since then serves the company as senior consultant.
Machiel Joosse is responsible for the technology of smart metering
at DELTA Netwerkbedrijf B.V. the Distribution System Operator in
Zeeland (southwest Netherlands). After obtaining his Bachelor degree
he started his career as an R&D engineer in both hard- and embedded
software, before joining DELTA’s smart metering program as engineer.
He has participated in several technical smart metering workgroups
within Netbeheer Nederland.
ABOUT THE COMPANIES
Tadiran is a leader in the development of lithium batteries for industrial
use. Its technology is well established for more than 40 years. Tadiran
lithium thionyl chloride batteries are suitable where utility meters
require a single long term stand-alone power source. When the battery
has to supply high pulse currents for a GSM module, Tadiran’s PulsesPlus
technology is a good choice.
www.tadiranbatteries.de
Netbeheer Nederland is the Association of Energy Network Operators
in the Netherlands, established in October 2007 to represent the
interests of national and regional electricity and gas network operators
in the Netherlands. Netbeheer Nederland promotes dialogue with
governmental bodies and market participants and consults with the
Office of Energy Regulation, NMa/Energiekamer
www.netbeheernederland.nl