Sweden-based service and software provider for utility industry, Powel, and its partner, Ness Technologies, have completed the smart meter management test in Czech Republic.
The test was carried out by Mycroft Mind and its partner, Masaryk University of Brno, for utility player CEZ Merení.
CEZ Merení operates metering equipment for the CEZ Group and others.
Ness implemented Powel’s vendor-independent system Powel ELIN at CEZ Merení to support a large-scale, automatic metering pilot project to examine new methods of electricity metering in the CEZ Group.
The test included collecting data, validating and estimating inputs from smart meters using a real-life communication protocol.
CEZ Merení WPP AMM project manager Ondrej Mamula said, "The objective for CEZ Merení is to use this new technology so that we can better meet the needs of, and utilize the opportunities that emerge for distributors, commercial players and private customers."
In January and February, 2013, CEZ Merení carried out scalability and performance test for its smart metering initiatives.
Mycroft Mind established a test environment at the Masaryk University in Brno based on a combination of virtual and physical servers.
The meter values were increased every 15 minutes based on realistic CEZ Group conditions. The task was to collect, validate and estimate missing values based on the standard rules in the least possible time.
The initial heat test encompassed 100.000 meters and a single communication server.
Based on the outcome of the heat test, Powel and Ness applied the test system for 3.5 million smart meters, while Powel ELIN processed up to 16,000 counts per second.