Meter Information Management in the New Environment

1. Meter Information Management in the New Environment Larsh Johnson President, CTO eMeter Corporation

2. Presentation Outline • What’s different? • New role of metering • Metering Lifecycle: Then & Now • Advanced Metering Infrastructure – increasingly complex relationships • Meter Information – beyond usage data • Systems and Applications • Advanced metering systems architecture • Example: California’s State-wide Pricing Pilot • Summary

3. What’s different? A new environment for Metering • Several trends are changing the face of utility Metering and Meter Information • Electronic meters– Increasing use of solid state electric meters makes new measurement parameters including power quality information available • Communicating meters– have become more affordable and can provide data every day, every hourly or every few minutes • Demand response programs– depend on metering support for advanced tariffs and driving frequency of data requirements • Customer rate options– Some states requiring utilities to provide small customers with rate options as an alternative or supplement to retail competition • Web Services– Utilities are implementing more and more online services to ease call center loads and improve customer services – key services such as electronic billing have led to providing end customers with access to their meter data and billing analysis applications • New customer services– such as demand billing alerts, outage notifications, budget billing, etc drive requirements for advanced metering • Outsourcing – considerable interest in 3rd parties providing meter reading, maintaining meters, billing services, web services changes the information flow • Deregulation/restructuring– continues to highlight to customers the value of metering and online meter information and drives requirements for timeliness and quality

4. Was: Registration of monthly energy usage for billing purposes Is or Will Be: Registration of usage for billing purposes Information resource for consumers Platform for outage and restoration event reporting Distribution asset management resource Foundation for demand response/rate choice programs Basis for new customer services Power quality & performance monitoring New role of metering

5. Metering Lifecycle – Then and Now Was: relatively simple commodity process Blanket orders Commodity purchase Shop/Truck Inventory Meter Install Retire Scrap Meter Test Meter In Service Is: highly tailored and configured process Complex Contracts Detailed Product Procurement Site-specific Work Order Requisition from inventory Product Configuration Meter In Service Verify Provisioning Network Configuration Meter Install Network Activation Meter Test Data Collection Trouble Report Repair /Replace Product Configuration Communications Test Network De-Activation Retire Scrap

6. Advanced Metering Infrastructure – Managing complex relationships Contact User Name Static and Dynamic relationships must be maintained for meter data to be useful Premise Account Circuit Outage App Web App Network Data Center Dist. App Meter Network Module Carrier Service Point Billing App Service Provider

7. Meter Information – beyond usage data

8. Typical Systems and Applications Generally no integration

9. Multiple Technologies, Systems, Suppliers and Outsourcing • Not only are there significant new challenges in managing advanced meters with communications, but… • In most cases a utility will require multiple communications technologies, use two or more different systems and procure these through several suppliers. • For example: Selection of a specific solution depends on: • Service type – e.g. singlephase, polyphase, CT, PT, gas, water, etc. • Network coverage and communications availability • Consumer service and tariff requirements • In addition, many utilities are considering outsourcing all or part of these functions. • These new dimensions and options add significant complexity to the meter lifecycle management processes • No more one-size-fits-all with generic functionality…

10. Meter Information Systems Architecture – Must Haves Web-based access utility & 3rd party Support for legacy systems integration Multiple technology support Generalized access to usage database Relationships maintained in AMI data model

11. Program Management: California Statewide Pricing Pilot (SPP) project Objective: Determine residential and small commercial customer responsiveness to price signals • Process • Target customers – multiple customers on one of four rates, info only, TOU, Critical Peak Fixed, Critical Peak Variable • Contact and begin enrollment – verify contact info, phone customers, get initial acceptance, send enrollment package, capture all contact history • Install & activate meter – confirm network coverage, schedule installation, install and activate meter • Provide Educational materials – mail materials to enrolled customers • Verify notification info –verify phone number for automated outbound notification process • Generate savings estimate – provide customers with estimated savings based on prior billing data • Generate billing summary – provide each customer with unique bill summary showing usage in each rate period • Conduct survey – follow-up surveys performed to gauge customer reaction to the rate • Evaluate customer response – use metered load data determine customer response to pricing signals, use customer surveys to determine reactions Requirements: Track and manage all processes and capture data for program analysis.

12. Supporting Information Platform Web access for utility, contractors, consumers Interfaces to CIS, Billing, Notification Systems Interval data – to consumer web site, to billing, to research team Customer, meter, enrollment, contact, installation and status info Outsourced AMI Mgmt, Meter Data Collection and Notification Services Multiple Meter Data Collection Technologies – phone & wireless

13. Pilot Project Process Management Process and status tracking History retained Cross-functional coordination Web access

14. Customer Information – Billing Summary • Metered usage data collected daily • Billing Cycle maintained • Pre-processing of usage data generates billing determinants • Bill computation, taxes, surcharges added • Billing information provided to rendering engine to generate billing summary pages • .PDF rendered and posted to web site for customer viewing • Billing summary mailed to customer on billing cycle

15. Customer Information – Web site Web services View interval usage data View billing summaries View/update notification info Download education materials Links to related information Future – online survey forms

16. 49% less 24% less 20% less Project Results – 2003 • CPUC Pilot Program Ordered March 13, 2003 • Customer Enrollment completed in 2 months • ~900 meters installed in under 3 months • Systems confirm readiness for Go Live July 1, 2003 • First Critical Peak Event called July 17th, 2003 • >94% notification success Satisfaction: 88% of participants would recommend program be offered to other customers

17. Summary • Metering and Information services no longer “one size fits all” • Customer interactivity with time-based tariffs drives new relationships • Today’s systems are typically “silos” and not integrated • Multiple technologies further complicate this • Outsourcing adds another wrinkle – additional systems interfaces • Carefully consider the new processes and systems involved in demand response, rate option, and metering programs • Plan for this new environment – don’t assume traditional models • Build flexible processes and systems – more change not less • Consider managing an Advanced Metering Infrastructure a new challenge, not a tweak to existing processes and systems