Intelligent Electric Meters Save Energy and Cut Costs

Beginning in 2010, intelligent electric meters from Siemens will make buying electricity more transparent for Austrian customers and help to reduce consumption. The company is installing 100,000 AMIS meters in Upper Austria for the utility Energie AG. AMIS (Automated Metering and Information System) sends time-resolved usage data to the utility and also can send information such as the current price of electricity to the customer. As of 2010, all new construction in the European Union must be equipped with smart meters. What makes AMIS so innovative is that it covers the entire supply chain from generator to consumer.

Intelligent electric meters, also known as “smart meters,” make near-time and detailed billing possible, allowing customers to actively control their consumption. Experts estimate this will enable a private household to reduce its electricity consumption by between five and 20 percent, depending on lifestyle. Energy utilities can use flexible, time-based electric rates to regulate the load on their grid and receive up-to-date data regarding usage status. Because the data makes it easier to predict load peaks, the utilities are better able to plan grid utilization. In addition, operators will save about half of their costs for meter reading, which for one million power customers comes to more than €1.5 million.

AMIS comprises a smart meter and a communication system that transmits the data via the power grid. And grid load is monitored by devices known as “data concentrators,” which are installed at the transformer stations. Bi-directional load switching devices can regulate grid utilization autonomously, and the utilities can also intervene at any time.

The AMIS solution offers important functions for a smart grid that can react flexibly to decentralized and fluctuating energy sources. In 2005, the European Commission launched the SmartGrids initiative for the creation of a smart power network in Europe.