Advanced Metering Infrastructure

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) refers to systems that measure, collect and analyse energy usage, from advanced devices such as electricity meters, gas meters, and/or water meters, through various communication media on request or on a pre-defined schedule. This infrastructure includes hardware, software, communications, customer associated systems and meter data management (MDM) software.

The network between the measurement devices and business systems allows collection and distribution of information to customers, suppliers, utility companies and service providers. This enables these businesses to either participate in, or provide, demand response solutions, products and services. By providing information to customers, the system assists a change in energy usage from their normal consumption patterns, either in response to changes in price or as incentives designed to encourage lower energy usage use at times of peak-demand periods or higher wholesale prices or during periods of low operational systems reliability.

AMI "raises the bar" with regard to traditional Automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it enables two-way communications with the meter. Traditional systems which were only capable of meter readings don't qualify as AMI systems.

Advanced Electric Meter

An electric meter, new or appropriately retrofitted, which is:1) capable of measuring and recording usage data in time differentiated registers, including hourly or such interval as is specified by regulatory authorities, 2) allows electric consumers, suppliers and service providers to participate in all types of price-based demand response programs, and 3) which provides other data and functionality that address power quality and other electricity service issues.

ources

* [http://www.dramcoalition.org/id19.htm Demand Response and Advanced Metering Coalition. Definitions.]
* [http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/dpinenergy.nsf/LinkView/4EC2E4EA42B821FCCA2572B10079A930A8BAF6E4E66C900FCA2572B20004C403 Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Australia.]

External links

* [http://www.utilimetrics.org/ Utilimetrics] - Non-profit industry trade association (Formerly known as the Automatic Meter Reading Association AMRA)
* [http://seclab.uiuc.edu/web/critical-infrastructure/attested-metering.html Illinois Security Lab Research on Security and Privacy for AMI]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=115519311058367534348.0000011362ac6d7d21187&ll=53.956086,14.677734&spn=23.864566,77.519531&z=4&om=1 Google Map of AMI & Smart Metering Programmes across the World.] Maintained by Smart Metering Project Team at the Energy Retail Association in the UK.
* [http://smartmeterpedia.synthasite.com/Enernex_Map.php Similar Google Map showing North American Initiatives categorized by AMR/AMI/Smart Grid] Data provided by Enernex, map created by Energy Retail Association project team in the UK.