GE's Digital Energy business has introduced its Grid IQ Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Point-to-Multipoint (P2MP) solution, which the company says provides secure, scalable, high-capacity and long-range wireless coverage of a utility's complete service territory and assets.
The wide-range metering capabilities of the Grid IQ AMI P2MP solution enable a utility to capture meter data across expansive geographical territories - from urban to rural areas - with minimal network infrastructure, GE says. In rural Minnesota, East Central Energy (ECE) has launched a Grid IQ AMI P2MP pilot to assess the solution's ability to capture meter readings over ECE's 4,800 square miles of territory, requiring only 34 Grid IQ AMI P2MP access points.
"Without a long-range AMI solution like GE's Grid IQ P2MP, comparable levels of coverage could cost ECE millions of dollars in network infrastructure,” says Linda LaTourelle, IT manager of ECE. “The Grid IQ AMI P2MP solution, when fully deployed, would provide the coverage and metering capabilities necessary to maintain a reliable, efficient electrical grid for our members, while greatly reducing the time it takes to realize a return on our initial investment.”
Built on On-Ramp Wireless Inc.'s wireless technology, the Grid IQ AMI P2MP also can monitor multiple distribution-sensing applications, such as smart meters, transformers, fault circuit indicators and other grid assets, under a unified network, GE adds. The Grid IQ P2MP AMI solution includes GE’s Smart Metering Operations Suite, a meter, data and transaction management system for smart metering operations.
