Impacto General del Proyecto

Table 15, summarises the key challenges that are currently facing the developed countries.

Table 15: Key challenges faced by developed economies

Economic barriers  There were many parties involved, and the benefits of smart metering may benefit parties than do not

necessarily bear the costs.

 Large scale AMI deployments take long and are costly. Opposition from regulators to increase the tariffs further and ask final users to pay for it.

 Business case Justification or target segment strategy not always clear.

 Funding Issues - Many AMI Pilots planned but delayed.

Deployment challenges  Initial expected deployment plans (2005-2010 projections) of smart metering did not materialise as envisaged.

 There are large numbers of “Pilots” of varying sizes in progress to evaluate impact and learn while technical, legal and social issues are addressed. A significant slowing down of execution indicating a cautious approach.

 Lack of skilled resources and general capacity to deploy projects on a large scale without proper planning and prior to evaluation of pilot results.  Indications are that momentum picking up in 2011 and

new targets set towards 2020.

Technology challenges  Standardisation taking longer than expected.

 Convergence of Technology well progressed but not fully there in totally inter-operable manner.

 Lack of interoperability between different smart meter systems. No open registered standards exists which properly scopes all of the different functions (metering, communications, presentation, and network).

Availability of multi-vendor Technology modularity progressing especially in larger scale multi-vendor pilots.

End consumer challenges  Initial lack of involvement/education. (Dutch case, Improving in UK)

 Need to be convinced of benefit and savings to them.  Concerns about security, privacy & health.

Case Study – San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E)

The following is a case study on challenges within the SDG&E utility in California, USA. As a result of the 2002 energy crisis in California, SDG&E has deployed a total of 2.2 million AMI meters of which 1.4 million are electricity meters, as of 2005. SDG&E decided on the ITRON OpenWay solution, using solid state meters. The following is a summarisation of the technical functionalities of the AMI solution, challenges and lessons learnt.

 Key functionalities of the SDG&E AMI system [13]:

 Interoperability - Meters could be replaced and still be able to operate on the same solution i.e. smart synchronisation.

 SDG&E created a “My Account Online billing” - Customers were notified via email when their bill was due, and bills could be paid online. Customers could register and view their account online and track the last 25 months of their account information. Customers could manage their account by means of tools to improve energy efficiency, identify exactly where the household was using energy and learn how to conserve energy.

 Dynamic pricing signals – SDG&E scheduled 15 days of Critical Peak Days per year. Peak time rebate to residential customers were based on the baseline savings.

 Head-end or backend system (i.e. AMI Master Station). Head end system was situated within SDG&E and ITRON had to dial in to the MDMS. Firmware updates were done from the head-end system.

 Home automation - SDG&E customers had the ability to remotely control smart appliances within their home using the computer.

SDG&E has encountered many challenges with their AMI deployment. Some of these challenges and lessons learnt are discussed below [13].

 Challenges - Customer related issues:

 Customer high bill issues were experienced. High bills mitigation process ensured transparency with customers. Customers were contacted or notified before bills had gone out, i.e. if the bills were too high. The billing department or call centre agent had to contact the customer to explain the high bill.

 SDG&E has their own call centre and expert team (technical problems) to deal with AMI related queries. ITRON resources were based at SDG&E and worked together with the AMI PMO resources to address technical concerns. Customer issues were resolved immediately or within 5 days.

Chapter 3: AMI Deployment - Utility and Customer Challenges

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 Customer communication, interaction and marketing were done via media, SMS and mass communications. 30 days before installation, contractors had gone out to visit the customer and explain AMI solution and other demand response or energy efficiency programmes. Three days before the actual installation, SDG&E’s call centre phoned customers to inform them of the meter installation.

 Customer information packs were used for educating customers on smart meter rollout e.g. reading of the meter. Letters were sent out to customers, preparing customers for the meter installation.

 Challenges - Technical field issues:

 Experienced meter and data collect or failure rate of 1% which was within the tolerance range.

 Experienced LCD display failure and battery failure.

 Meter disconnection due to battery leakage.

 Communication issues of RF mesh network (900MHz) and Zigbee (300 feet range) to talk to meters. Relays had to be replaced.

 Internal engagement and communication processes:

 Employee engagement - every 3 months employees are educated, trained and feedback provided on the AMI rollout.

 Customer incentives - SDG&E have incentivised the customers with energy efficient showerheads as a bonus with the smart meter programme enrolment.

 Security, data privacy and data protection challenges - 3rd party laboratory (ITRON) dealt with security issues, testing and embedded devices.

 SDG&E’s communication process included communication before, during and after installation; as listed below:

o 60-90 days: Meet with elected officials and community leaders o 30-60 days: Community outreach - Participate in community events o 30 days: Mail customer notification letter

o 3 days: Day ahead phone call - Outbound dialler notification o Day of: Personal contact by installer and SDG&E

o Less than 2 weeks after installation: Personal follow-up by SDG&E with a sample of customers to answer questions and offer information on programs and services

 Lessons Learnt:

 Customer service relations empowerment

o SDG&E provided “enhanced” smart meter training and create a dedicated “escalated” desk to resolve queries.

 High bill mitigation

o Perform ‘High/Low” billing checks to identify billing issues before sending out bills.

o Ensured proactive customer contact on high bills.

The SDG&E case study has shown results in line with related AMI implementations for developed economies internationally.