Technology for today, Flexibility for tomorrow
CUSTOMIZED METERING
ROUNDING OUT YOUR SMART GRID
FLORIDA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION
JUNE 10, 2014
CLEARWATER, FL
Confidential
Topics
 Vision Metering-Who are we?
 Meter Services
 Vision Meter family
 Niche Metering
 Data on Demand
 HawkEye Elevated Metering
 Cogeneration Metering
 Expanded AMR
 Magnetic Tampering
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History of Vision Metering
 Austin International
was founded in 1991 as
an investment recovery
solution for utilities
 AI grew to become the
largest electric meter lab
in the country
 Company changed name
to Vision Metering in
2011 to more accurately
reflect our core business
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Company Overview
 Headquarters in York, SC
 265,000 sq ft facility
 Approximately 190
employees
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Who We Are
 Randy Austin-President
 Debbie Ruth-Executive VP
 Shane Blackwood-VP Sales
 Emily Howell-VP Finance
 Sales Contacts
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Katie Britton
Peter Edquist
Jenner Sequeira
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Divisions of Vision Metering
 Vision Metering is
comprised of 6
divisions working
together
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Electric Meter Lab
Gas Meter Lab
Standards & Transformer
Lab
Engineering/Special
Projects
Investment Recovery
Vision Meter
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Electric Meter Lab
• Refurbishes over 1 million meters annually
• Electromechanical meters
– GE I-70S
– Elster AB1
– Schlumberger J5S
– Landis + Gyr MX
• Solid State meters
– GE I-210
– Itron Centron
– Landis + Gyr Focus (with and without TWACS modules)
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Electric Meter Lab
 Electric meter lab customers include:
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Electric Meter Lab
 SEMA region customers include:
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Service Offerings
Typical meter service programs include:
 Full outsourcing of shop
○ All meter testing outsourced to service provider
 Partial Outsourcing
○ Singlephase meter testing outsourced
○ Polyphase metering kept in house
 Overflow Relief
○ Service provider utilized when back log occurs in the
meter shop
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Gas Meter Lab
 16 Sonic nozzle provers in
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operation
Seven wet leak test stations
Over 500 meters/day
currently produced with
capacity of 1,000
meters/day
Environmental chamber
for extreme temperature
testing
Approximately 35
employees in gas lab
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Standards & Transformer Lab
Standards Lab
 Standards lab ensures
accuracy of Vision
Metering’s electric and
gas meter labs
 Only private meter
company in the US with
Radian 703A
 Transformer Lab
Refurbish CT’s and PT’s
from 600V through 35 kV
 Certify utility equipment
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Engineering/Electronics

Sentry Product Line
 Isolation Relays
 Totalizers
 Recorders
 ERT reading devices
 Power Transfer Relays

Custom engineering
designs
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Investment Recovery
 Vision Metering began as
an investment recovery
company
 Specialize in the
following types of
equipment
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Metering
Instrument transformers
Distribution equipment
Lighting
Test equipment
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Vision Meter Lab
 Vision family of meters
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Vision LT
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Vision
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Low cost platform
Standard singlephase platform
Vision XT
Polyphase meters
 Demand meters
 Smart meters

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Advantages of Vision family of meters
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Utilize CT’s for current sensing
Improved stability
 Better temperature stability
 Longer life
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Transformer based power supply
More robust power supply
 Longer life
 Higher power output to support AMI devices
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LCD display is soldered onto metrology board
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More reliable than displays using connectors or pressure fits
Single printed circuit board
Lower cost
 No board connectors=Fewer failure points
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Advantages of Vision family of meters
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No extra cost for advanced functionality!!!
All meters come fully equipped
 Net metering
 Load profile (12 channels)
 Time of Use
 Reactive
 No soft keys for advanced metering values
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Easy to use programming software
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Vision 20/20 software
Short lead times
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Typical lead time measured in days, not months
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AMI/AMR Capabilities
 Vision Metering offers a number of
AMI/AMR communication options
to fit every deployment scenario
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RF Mesh
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Fixed Network
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NexGrid-Provides multi-mesh solution for
electric, water, gas, street lighting,
distribution automation and much more
CISCO Secure Mesh
OnRamp Wireless-2.4 GHz fixed
network offering long range RF coverage
for electric and distribution automation
Cellular

Locus Energy-3G cellular coverage using
AT&T network
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AMI/AMR Capabilities
 Demand Management/Sub-Metering
 900 MHZ RF

Data on Demand-real time, fixed network system providing
voltage, current, and power as often as 15 seconds intervals
 Legacy Drive-By AMR
 High Power RF module (ERT equivalent)
Programmable transmission rate (3-30 seconds)
 Up to 5 ERT radios per meter
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Vision 20/20 Software
 Vision 20/20 software benefits include
 Easy to use
 No need to build an entire program to change one parameter
 Fully customizable
 Programs take minutes to build
 Three levels of security access
 Free to all users
 Software live demo
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Beyond AMI
 Demand Management
 Most utilities have demand
management accounts that
require real time data to take
full advantage of special rates
 AMI infrastructure not
always practical for every
location
 Customer access to data is
critical
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Data on Demand
 Data on Demand
provides 15 second
energy readings
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kWh
Voltage (per phase)
Current (per phase)
Power factor
kVah
kVarh
 Extremely low
infrastructure cost
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Data on Demand
 One way 900 MHz
 Near real time
 Data is collected via
Visions EndSight
software
 Data also available using
modbus protocol for
integration into building
automation systems
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DoD Installations
 Data on Demand
Installations include
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College campuses
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DoD Installations
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Near Real Time Data
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DoD Installations
 Data on Demand
Installations include
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College campuses
Industrial Parks
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Envision Charlotte
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DoD Installations
 Data on Demand
Installations include
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College campuses
Industrial Parks
Government Housing
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HawkEye Elevated Metering System
 HawkEye was designed
for the Aboitiz group of
utilities in the
Philippines
 Revenue protection is
critical
 Meters mounted in
“billboards” atop poles
 Meter reading done with
high resolution camera
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HawkEye
 HawkEye is
designed to provide
high security
elevated metering in
a compact, easy to
install system.
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HawkEye
 Modular compact meter
design
 Each meter contains two
100A relays for remote
connect/disconnect
 Remote display for
centralized customer
access
 Tamper detection
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HawkEye
 Meters utilize optical
communication with
RadioGate for increased
security and reliability
 RadioGates capable of
mesh communication
between enclosures
 Prepay metering capable
using STS protocol
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Cogeneration Metering
 Metering solution for
installations that are
powered from
cogeneration sources or
non-utility owned
sources
 Desired a single meter
solution
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Cogeneration Metering
 Vision meter customized to detect alternate
supply voltage
 When voltage detected on alternate supply,
meter transitions power from kWH delivered
register to kWH delivered power even though
current flows in same direction
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Expanded Drive By AMR
 Vision was approached
by several utilities
seeking to expand their
drive by SCM message
capabilities
 Time of Use not
compatible with existing
SCM technology
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Expanded AMR
 Current revenue meters
only capable of up to 3
SCM ID’s
 SCM only configure for
kWH registers, not TOU
 Utilities desired up to 5
SCM ID’s with fully
customizable payloads
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Expanded AMR
 Vision Meters now support 5 fully customizable
SCM’s including:
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kWh delivered, received & net
kVAh delivered
kVARh delivered
Max kW, Max kVA & Max kVAR
Cumulative kW & Continuous cumulative kW
TOU: kWh Rate, A, B, C &D
TOU Demand: Max kW Rate A, B, C & D
Confidential
Magnetic Tampering
 Magnetic Tampering
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All solid state meters
currently offered in the US
are susceptible to
magnetic tampering
Singlephase meters
 More importantly,
Polyphase meters!
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Magnetic Tampering
 Solid State meters are vulnerable to high strength
magnetic fields in two manners
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Power supply
Current Sensing
 AMI meters equipped with remote disconnects can
also be opened/closed with magnets
 So, what kind of magnet is needed?
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Magnetic Tampering
 Magnetic fields that
exceed as little as 5,000
gauss can affect the
accuracy of solid state
meters
 As field strength
increase, meter accuracy
goes down rapidly
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Magnetic Tampering
 Rare earth magnets are
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readily available on the
internet
The magnet shown here
produces a 13,000 gauss
field
2” x 2” x 1”
Available for under $40
Will self adhere to meter
cover
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Magnetic Tampering
 Accuracy affected by
anywhere from 25%-75%
on every meter tested
 Some meters actually
shut down due to the
magnetic field
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Magnetic Tampering
 So what can be done?
 Meters can contain magnetic tamper detection
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Utility may be alerted but revenue still lost
Meters can move CT’s and power supply closer to center of
meter
Not effective against strong magnetic fields
 Not possible with AMI meters that have remote disconnects
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Meters can use shielded CT’s and power supplies
Best solution, makes meter immunes to magnetic tampering
 Adds nominal cost and weight to meter
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Questions
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