Manual meter reading is costly and cannot support smart-grid automation and management technologies:
- No reliable access to real-time data for monitoring and control applications
- Line losses undetected between meter reading cycles, causing waste, environmental pollution, and safety concerns
- Manual processes are costly, prone to error, and do not scale as grids expand
- Manual data collection limits billing and payment options, such as prepaid services based on multiple rate structures
IP-based systems and applications hold great promise for improving the efficiency of metering and managing electric power, but need an underlying communications and data collection platform to be effective.
Huawei’s IP-based metering solution enables power companies to migrate to fully automated smart-grid applications, easily expand their service area, and branch into new services from gas and water to supporting smart appliances.
IP-based ICT Infrastructure Solution for Electric Power Grid Metering, Billing, and Energy Management
High-availability ICT infrastructure for managing essential power services
The IP-based metering platform is built on highly reliable Huawei networking and data center products:
- AR530 Industrial Switching Router
- S5700 Ethernet switches for access, aggregation, and data transport functions
- RH2x88 Servers – high-performance, energy-saving servers for the Data Collection Platform (DCP), Meter Data Management System (MDMS), customer service and billing systems
- S5500T Storage Disk Array for data storage, backup, and failover
Server and database systems are configured to provide backup and automated failover processes, yielding uptime performance from 99.67% (Tier 1) to 99.99% (Tier 4).
High-speed, bi-directional communications from data center to smart meter
The Huawei metering infrastructure solution supports large-scale, complex grids with scalable networking and transmission options:
- Choose and interconnect wide area, neighborhood area, and local area networks with wired, wireless, and fiber-optic transmission technologies
- Optimize downstream communications performance using Huawei’s OptiX Optical Transport Network (OTN) platform as a Data Concentrator Unit (DCU); supports IP and WDM data communications
- Use smart meters with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) or upgrade using Huawei’s custom PLC chip providing secure, bi-directional communications at up to 10 Mbit/s
Simplify smart-grid ICT infrastructure management with fully-integrated eSight NMS
Because all components are engineered to meet Huawei’s quality and interoperability standards, the solution is not only tightly integrated but fully compliant with the Huawei eSight Unified Network Management System (NMS):
- Simplify control and management of complex networks of up to 50 million meters
- Customize processes and settings with simple, graphical user interface
- Implement secure VPN access for remote terminals
Software Development Kit (SDK) to customize and extend smart-grid applications
A comprehensive SDK lets power companies and third-parties customize applications and add new services.
- Service-oriented architecture with APIs and sample code optimized for smart-grid applications
- Customize network and application-layer features, customer support and billing services
- Leverage smart grid infrastructure to manage natural gas, water, and integrate smart appliances into the grid
Power utilities can improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and boost energy conservation with responsive applications running on a Huawei smart-grid infrastructure solution.
Check out Huawei’s eLTE Broadband Trunking Solution providing high-performance backbone communications for large-scale smart-grids.
With a Huawei IP-based ICT infrastructure solution, power companies can offer better service at lower costs while building a strategic business asset for accelerating growth and profitability:
- Overcome limitations of existing IT and communications infrastructure
- Consolidate large-scale power grids cost-effectively with high-speed, low-latency communications throughout the entire service area
- Squeeze line losses to a bare minimum
- Accelerate cash flow with innovative, tiered payment plans
- Support growth and add services without limitations of mixed, legacy communication networks
- Gain competitive advantages for the future
Seize the future. Contact a Huawei Partner now, or Email Us
