The energy scenario of recent years has highlighted the importance of the availability of additional and more detailed information relating to electricity consumption, which can support the activities of operators in the sector and their customers.
Starting from this need and through its innovative vision, E-Distribuzione SpA – after being the first utility to install, starting from 2001, 32 million “intelligent” meters in Italian homes and companies – has designed Open Meter, the new second generation electronic meter (“2G”), which will replace the electronic meters currently installed according to a plan whose massive phase will be completed in 2024.
Entirely designed in Italy by E-Distribuzione SpA and characterized by an innovative design, the new "2G" electricity meter is able to combine quality of service with technological innovation, allowing consumers to have considerable advantages also through the authorization to use home automation systems.
One of the main characteristics of the new measuring devices is the possibility for the customer to have information on electricity consumption almost in real time and, consequently, to program the withdrawal of energy with a view to savings and convenience. Through an open and public communication protocol, which will allow the transmission of measurement data from the 2G meter to home automation devices, it will be possible to access - also via web interfaces and mobile apps - the consumption data recorded at 15-minute intervals and check the technical parameters of average and maximum power drawn. Furthermore, it will also be possible to view the consumption trend in previous periods.
In addition to those just indicated, the technological evolution of the new meters will also bring further benefits to customers. For example, thanks to the sending of more detailed and frequent measurement data to vendors, it will be possible to carry out changes of supplier ("switching") and supply header (transfer) more quickly, streamline billing processes and receive commercial offers specifications, designed according to the needs and consumption habits of each customer.
Thanks to the 2G smart metering system and, in particular, with the transition to the daily acquisition of metering data, process improvements can be enabled that can considerably reduce billing adjustments and the consequent adjustments. With reference to switching however, a new contract can be activated not only on the first day of the month, but also on any other day of the month, significantly reducing the timescales for the procedures. The same applies in case of transfer of the supply. With regard to innovative commercial offers, the 2G meter - allowing the configuration of a greater number of time slots - will allow sellers to design proposals that are more in line with the needs and consumption profiles of their customers, with the possibility of developing flexible and personalized solutions, or even of the “prepaid” type.
Furthermore, the new remote management system will make it possible to improve the overall quality of the electricity service, increasing the data available to the distributor for network management and giving a fundamental boost to the digitization process of the same. In fact, the meter is also an advanced sensor of the electricity grid, and the e-distribuzione 2G remote management system is able to provide useful indications for quickly identifying the portions of the low voltage grid that are out of power and to intervene more quickly to manage any restoration of supplies.
The new meter complies with the latest regulatory requirements relating to metrology, electromagnetic compatibility, climatic and safety aspects. In particular as regards the construction features dedicated to safety, the 2G meter is equipped with a switch with high breaking and closing capacity in short-circuit conditions.
With Smart Grids, of which the meter represents the beating heart, E-Distribuzione SpA, as a distribution company, will be able to integrate the actions of all the players connected to its electricity grid, whether producers or consumers, to distribute energy safe, efficient, sustainable and cost-effective way. The 2G meter will therefore be the fulcrum for the development of Smart Cities The sustainable city is not an idea of the future, but a project that has already begun to take shape and that with this new tool is arriving in our homes to help us consume better energy, reducing our environmental “footprint”.
