As published in Broadband Properties - May 2008
Bristol Tennessee Essential Services uses its next-generation network for next-generation utility solutions such as "peak-shaving."
Fiber to the home (FTTH) is experiencing phenomenal growth around the world and especially in the United States. FTTH is viewed as the “next big thing” in the telecommunications industry because it provides the means to deliver the triple play of voice, data and video services. Many large telecommunications providers are enhancing their offerings through FTTH, while rural telephone companies across the country are upgrading their decades-old copper plants with state-of-the-art FTTH upgrades and enhancements.
For the consumer, the benefits are significant, with higher-speed broadband capabilities and enhanced video experiences widely available for the first time. But beyond the triple play, FTTH provides new opportunities to enhance the information flow to and from the home. One of these new applications focuses on collecting and managing energy information intelligently, providing substantial benefits for both the consumer and energy provider.
Modernizing the Grid
Because FTTH networks provide significantly higher bandwidth speeds than are available on any other networks, they offer utilities and other energy providers an unprecedented opportunity to modernize and fully utilize their own data. Although the idea of energy providers utilizing FTTH in this way is quite new, innovative technologies already exist to facilitate this critical information flow from every fiber-connected point across the coverage area in real time. This fairly uncharted territory may seem like a foreign and risky prospect in an industry where convention and legacy systems often dominate. However, some progressive energy providers are finding that monumental strides in grid modernization and overall operational efficiencies can be gained by taking the first step.
One such utility is Bristol Tennessee Essential Services (BTES), a community-owned electric and telecommunications provider serving more than 31,000 customers in Bristol, Tennessee, and the surrounding county. In 2005, after meticulous research and consideration, BTES realized that if it installed its own FTTH system, it could benefit not only by selling triple play services but also by utilizing the network connections to each home for utility applications.
BTES contacted Huntsville-based Carina Technology, Inc. with a requirement to leverage its newly constructed FTTH network to provide enhanced utility benefits to its customers and help modernize its own electric grid. The company’s goal was to gather a wide variety of information from each metering point that would help increase visibility, fully utilize meter data and improve accuracy and customer service across the electric grid.
BTES and Carina worked together to meet several challenges, making improvements on both sides. One issue that arose during construction was how to provide power to the optical network terminals (ONTs) located on the side of every home. Traditionally, neither telephone nor cable television has required external power for customer-premises equipment, but ONTs and backup batteries require power at each physical point.
Carina assessed the problem and developed a patented adaptation of its original CarinaPoint Ethernet Metering Device (EMD) collar, which was designed to be mounted in the electric meter socket behind the meter and to serve as an external powering solution for the ONT. The EMD doesn’t only provide power; this IP-enabled device also acts as a mini-server at the metering point, monitoring and transporting energy information in real time. The EMD is a good powering solution because its ‘plug and play’ design eliminates the need to hire electricians or contractors to install external power outlets, especially on an existing structure – an issue that continues to plague the FTTH industry.
Collecting Real-Time Information
Another issue that BTES wanted to address was the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which set the stage for the direction of utility operations for the next 15 to 20 years. EPAct 2005 mandates utilities to explore and implement new technologies that provide more operational information, more frequently. This information is critical to utilities because it allows them to become more efficient and to manage their electrical grids to peak efficiency, especially during heavy usage periods.
BTES and Carina took this act a step further than “exploration”: BTES is one of the few utilities in the United States that is developing and implementing new programs such as real-time pricing plans (RPP) and time-of-use rates (TOU). These plans will allow BTES to charge different rates during different periods of the day – and, for the first time, put the power to control energy usage directly into the hands of the consumer via in-home customer information displays.
For these plans to be effective, two important components must be in place. First, the utility must have the capability and the communications infrastructure to gather real-time data from devices across the electrical grid to monitor the state of its system. Second, consumers need the ability to receive information from the utility and to understand their energy consumption. BTES and Carina addressed both of these issues with effective and optimized solutions.
Carina continues to work with BTES to provide next-generation energy information solutions. These go far beyond traditional Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) or Automatic Meter Infrastructure (AMI) solutions, which collect usage data once per billing cycle. In BTES’ network, end-point devices at every FTTH location collect data continuously – and not only the traditional meter reading but voltage information, outage detection and proactive capability for demand response applications.
Analysis of this information is facilitated by the real-time nature of the FTTH network, coupled with Carina’s suite of CarinaXchange software applications. The information collected and analyzed at the meter point is transmitted to the CarinaXchange server via the FTTH backhaul. CarinaXchange then extrapolates and processes the information instantaneously so that
BTES can use it to deliver huge gains in operational efficiency.
This means the utility can automatically gather meter reads on a continual basis, monitor voltage levels in real time, pinpoint outages in real time via Carina’s Interactive GIS mapping system, and monitor the status of the FTTH network itself. Most important to BTES are the ability to gather this information easily, and the tools to simplify the analysis. “Carina's end-to-end solution for advanced metering, demand response and performance software is in a class of its own. We have not found any other system that has the flexibility and functionality that they deliver. Their system will have a significant impact on how we operate more efficiently,” says Dr. Michael Browder, CEO of BTES.
As energy demand continues to rise, traditional AMI systems will no longer provide the amount of information that utilities need. FTTH connections provide a communication path for utility information that is far superior to legacy fixed-network systems. For example, 220MHz and 900Mhz wireless systems require full-scale deployment to gather a much more limited amount of information. Power line communication is also used to communicate with metering points, but its bandwidth is extremely limited. Utilities such as BTES have shown vision and foresight in implementing systems that will provide significant benefits for years to come, and position them to address the requirements of the EPAct 2005. BTES customers will continue to receive state-of-the-art electric services such as proactively pinpointed and restored outages, individual energy usage profiles, and load control of high energy consuming appliances.
Demand response applications are a key element of the EPAct 2005 and a major reason for its mandate that utilities secure appropriate infrastructure to accommodate new requirements for energy efficiency. For example, to implement real-time pricing and time-of-use programs, utilities must be able to notify consumers in real time of pricing fluctuations so that consumers can conserve energy and avoid paying higher energy costs during that period. These pricing plans are common in a small number of states today, but will transition across the country in the coming years.
But utilities must do more than keep consumers informed about pricing changes; they must also accurately measure energy usage during these periods for billing purposes. To accomplish this, utilities must be able to gather usage information as often as every 15 minutes. This requires enormous bandwidth and database capability for storing and analyzing the information. BTES utilizes Carina’s Meter Data Management (MDM) platform, which provides a dense database where information is stored, then mined and displayed – all in real time, thanks to the FTTH network.
BTES is currently monitoring 200 households on a 15-minute-interval basis in order to generate data to assist in load management of the electric system. Information is automatically gathered in real time, and then displayed on a visual dashboard management application showing real-time graphs, charts and tables. This provides BTES with information previously unavailable in any system.
In addition to information gathering, demand response applications allow the utility to control appliances in the consumer’s residence for the purpose of managing the peak energy load at specific times of the day. BTES also uses the data to understand the load profiles in various parts of the city. A few states have demand response programs in place today, but none can provide this level of information or interactive control.
Presenting and displaying information in real time allows utilities to be proactive and to manage peak energy usage in large portions of their electric system, not only at the substation level. This will help avoid future energy crises such as the rolling blackouts that have been prominent in high-energy states such as California during recent years. Giving utilities the ability to effectively manage energy during peak periods in a measurable and meaningful way relieves the pressure to build costly power plants.
With the telecommunications industry transitioning to FTTH networks, and the energy industry’s effort to modernize the electric system, a tremendous opportunity exists for the two industries to work together for mutual benefit. For the utility industry, the need for real-time energy information is quickly becoming the standard, and broadband stands as the best communications medium to support this effort.
About Carina: Carina Technology, Inc. is a Huntsville-AL-based technology hardware and software firm that provides Utility Information Solutions through its patented CarinaPoint™ Solution. Carina enables energy providers to manage operations more efficiently through applications such as Meter Data Management, remote meter reading, Demand Side Management, & remote disconnect/reconnect. More information about Carina can be found at www.carinatek.com.
CONTACT:
Laura Pepper
Carina Technology, Inc.
Phone: 256.704.0422 x106
Fax: 256.704.0366
lpepper@carinatek.com
www.carinatek.com
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