Global electrical manufacturer and distributor Schneider Electric has now made available its vendor neutral EcoStruxure Grid Metering Operations (GMO) architecture as it prepares for the South African government’s advanced metering infrastructure project.
“Our EcoStruxure GMO architecture puts our information management services expertise to work not only to achieve effective AMI deployment but also to maximise subsequent smart metering returns,” explains Dwibin Thomas, Cluster Automation Leader at Schneider Electric. “The solution is a meter-agnostic platform and offers advanced deployment, management and integration of AMI systems. It will enable utilities across the country to make their meters ‘smarter’, including now prepaid meters.”
Schneider Electric was recently named one of the Global Top 10 Smart Meter Companies by global energy research organisation Blackridge Research & Consulting, which Thomas says is due in part to its GMO. “EcoStruxure’s integration capabilities are a major feature. We are incredibly proud of our product”. He adds, “Smart meters and smart prepaid meters offer real-time data on power consumption via a smart energy management system. This data can be accessed remotely, allowing utilities to accurately gauge usage, obtain billing information and general consumer consumption patterns.”
Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure GMO provides effective large-scale deployment, efficient operation and rollout management, among other benefits that Thomas says “Will make meter rollout projects easier to manage, both during and after completion. There are also improved end-customer services and lower operational costs that make implementation easier.”
According to the manufacturer, smart meters offer important benefits to consumers as they allow the consumers to actively track their own power consumption and adjust their usage according to peak-time tariffs. “EcoStruxure GMO also allows consumers to remotely access prepaid meters to monitor top up units. This is particularly beneficial to households and businesses that use hybrid solar/grid power systems,” says Thomas. “A common complaint by prepaid users is that when they do switch over to a hybrid system, they don’t have real-time insight into the status of their prepaid account i.e., how many units are left.”
He adds, “EcoStruxure GMO is a complete offering. It manages meters, concentrator, modem, HAN (home area network) device asset information and relationships, device lifecycle and field service logistics. It can also execute remote operations that include configuration, connect/disconnect and on-demand reads, while collecting and integrating readings and events such as power outages and quality, errors, tampers).”
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