A Smart Energy Meter Architecture in Indian Context

Potuganti Prudhvi Dhruv Bhalodi Manikant Manohar Vamshi Padidela Sudarshan Adapa
Dept of EEE Dept of EEE Dept of EEE Dept of EEE Dept of EEE
NIT Warangal NIT Warangal NIT Warangal NIT Warangal NIT Warangal
prudhvi@ieee.org

Abstract— This paper introduces a low cost Smart Meter type electronic meters are rare. The former have poor
Architecture to suit vast and diverse Indian market. An extensive configurability and they are read on a monthly basis
review on Smart Meters research and market has been
concealing the time-to-time usage of the customer. This billing
presented. In addition, we propose a low cost add-on device for
the existing electromechanical energy meters to update the process is also quite cumbersome and needs an overhaul to a
customers about the billing and usage. A discussion on available completely new metering infrastructure based on AMI at an
and feasible communication technologies is included and the affordable cost to everyone.
most relevant solution with cost analysis is proposed. Smart meter architecture is prevalent in many countries
across the world and massive roll outs are underway in US,
Keywords-Smart Meter, ZigBee, GSM, IR sensor, Cost analysis Europe, Australia to effectively implement demand side
I. Introduction management [3].
In India, Smart Grid is perceived to be a necessity
rather than a luxury. Thus for serving 1.2 billion people, cost
oriented research should be the prime motive. The prices for
smart meters pose a barrier for their large-scale deployment by
distribution utilities in India. To overcome this, the Indian
Smart Grid Task Force is working on developing a low-cost
basic smart meter. This paper presents one such effort and
paves a way for further research.
The contemporary energy meters in India need an
upgrade to meet the future demands of the nation and to be
compatible with the growing smart grid needs. The Advanced
Metering Infrastructure (AMI) takes into concern and
addresses the persistent issues including power theft, Figure 1. Difference between ordinary metering and AMI
automatic billing, transparency, accountability and customer –
B. State of Art
utility interaction.
AMI involves two way communications between the This section presents ongoing research in the area of
consumer and the utility provider wherein the customer will be smart meters. A comprehensive review of the AMR
technologies proposed so far is given in [4]. Furthermore it
aware of his usage patterns and can be notified about the
also presents as a DLMS/COSEM as a communication
scheme of tariff. It provides the utility, the ability to ask users
standard and proposed SIP to handle the communication
to alter load usage pattern for smoothening of load curve. Its
sessions between a meter and a data collection system. The
other features include automatic billing, automatic control necessity of a reliable and more efficient two-way
over consumer’s usage, demand based tariff, theft detection, communications infrastructure with less propagation delay for
power quality control, detection of faults within the system operation of smart meter network is stressed in [5]. Several
[1]. AMR, abbreviated as Automatic Meter Reading, involves pros and cons of smart meters were analysed in technical and
the development of architecture for digitizing the meter output social perspectives in [6]. Development of a Smart Power
and instantaneously communicating the data to the utility for Meter for AMI Based on ZigBee Communication is discussed
instant billing. in [7]. V2G concept integration with a smart meter is
A. Smart Meter Scenario in India presented in [8].A new idea of compressed meter reading is
discussed in [9]. A method for determining location of
These are presently being installed in Delhi under a appliances from multi hop tree structures of power strip type
pilot project on voluntary basis by a private company [2]. smart meters is proposed in [10]. The privacy issues in Smart
Most of the houses in India are equipped with indigenous metering were clearly put forth in [11]. A new smart apparent
electromechanical type meters while the digital or solid state energy meter for Indian context was introduced in [12]. The

978-1-4577-1829-8/12/$26.00 ©2012 IEEE

definition of local interface along with architectures for
consumer oriented implementation of smart meter network is
proposed in [13]. An attempt was made in [14] to use IEC
61850, which will be the seamless standard in power system,
for smart meters to achieve interoperability.
Some of the successful smart meter installations are listed
below. Italy’s ENEL Telegestore Project is the largest
advanced metering project in the world, with over 27 million
meters networked with a 2.1 billion € investment that is
producing 500 million € savings per year and delivering better
service at lower cost [15]. Austin Energy is forefront in
leading the smart meter benefits with 65,000 customer
enrolled for demand response. With one third meters already
deployed, they are focussing on the rest and to add thousands Figure 2. Basic view of meter with conversion module
of sensors to the grid [16] . Utility giant like Hydro One is
taking up AMI technology initiative in Canada to serve 1.3
million customers [17] . In , Portugal, one of the intelligent This module employs an IR sensor to convert the energy
grid initiative is installation of EDP Box which will replace consumption into a digital reading. It uses the IR sensor IC
the current meter, with numerous advantages, since it will OPB706A, LM324 comparator, a counter as shown in figure 3
allow access to detailed information on consumption, enabling and its count is updated on a micro controller. It is based on
the consumer to know the times of day that consumes the most the property of photo diode whose resistance changes upon
and those that can use electricity at a price favourable[18]. incidence of light. The CD 4017 counter is used to count the
number of rotations made by the disc.

II. Proposed Add On Device

India being hugely populated cannot install Smart
Meters on a single go, so a strategic planning for their
implementation needs to be stressed. Majority of Indian
investment still flows into generation i.e. new power plants
and transmission corridors thereby allocating less priority for
Smart Meters in spite of its potential to fetch returns in near
future. Hence we propose an innovative and cost effective
model for Smart Meter which could cater the needs of several
individuals serving its purpose. Even in a phased
implementation, the final phase would take at least a decade
from now. So, we propose a simple add on module to the
existing electromechanical meters to realize the vital features
of smart meter at very low cost to compensate for the delay in
mass roll out.
Figure 3. Circuit diagram of conversion device
A. Electromechanical – Digital Add On Device
This is a typical conversion device which digitalizes Here, two sub routines can be exercised for programming
the ordinary energy meter reading. The module is designed to on the micro controller. One routine is a constant time based
sense the black/red strip present on the rotating disc. By energy estimation which calculates energy for every fixed
sensing the strip, the device counts the no. of rotations made time interval ‘T’. The other routine is constant energy based
by the disc. Thus, the device calculates the energy one which calculates time for energy ‘E’ consumed. In either
consumption of the household and is made available in digital of the case, time or energy is communicated through the
format. Fig.2 shows the design and location of module on the communication module. The circuit excluding the micro
controller is simulated in MULTISIM and its screen shot is
meter.
shown below in figure 4.In the simulation, a pulse generator is
used to replicate the behaviour of IR receiver.
 control unit. The usage patterns and most of the other analytics
are performed at the utility control unit. So, a control unit is
assigned for a group of meters and thus the control unit is
optimally utilised. Thus, in Indian Context, in a densely
populated area, a utility control unit can be placed close to a
distribution transformer. Also, this control unit serves as the
gateway between utility and customer and communicates the
demand side management controls.

Load control unit- This performs the function of

automatic control of the home loads in case of high demand or
such similar instances. The meter on receiving a command
from the Utility side control unit acknowledges by processing
it. A new command specific to home is sent out by MC to load
control unit which implements the control actions. Essentially,
if a load control unit is embedded into a smart meter, the cost
will be increased. Hence, we propose to isolate it and installed
separately based on the affordability of household. For
Figure 4. Simulation snapshot of convertor
example, it is definitely not recommended to put a touch
screen enabled load control terminal which controls the
operation of AC’s and Ovens in a middle class household. The
design of this circuit specific to different households and in
Indian context is a topic to be explored.
Memory chip: The memory plays a vital role in the Smart
Meter functioning. Most of the data though processed and
communicated to utility centre, needs to be stored on board.

The circuit employed in the present smart meter design

adopts 34Kbit EEPROM, 32Mbit FLASH and stable 256Kbit
FRAM.
Figure 5. Prototype implementation of convertor

The first image in figure 5 shows the output of comparator

and counter as LOW (LED OFF) when a white strip is placed.
Second image in figure 5 shows the output of comparator and
counter as HIGH (LED ON) when a black strip is placed.

III. Smart Meter Architecture for India

In this section, we propose a low cost yet complete
architecture for Indian Context.
A. Components
Energy Measurement is the elementary function of the
energy meter. The architecture in figure 6 prescribes ICs for
energy measurement and after an extensive survey on market;
we are utilizing ADE7878 by Analog Devices. It is a low
power device combined with high accuracy and can measure
both active and reactive powers. The use of a micro controller
distributes the processing and control actions over the grid
reducing the burden on the systems at control centres. The
choice of micro controller is difficult with hundreds of them
available in the market. A 32-bit ARM Cortex M3 micro
controller, specifically developed for Smart Meter application
by NXP semiconductors is chosen. Figure 6. Architectural overview of Smart Energy Meter

Utility side control unit: In our proposed architecture, The data is secured even under the condition of power failure.
the meter communicates the usage data continually to the It has unlimited reading and writing features and low power
consumption. A battery provides the required back up in case establishment of this mode requires good amount of capital to
the grid is non-operational. A basic LCD display is installed to make it into a full-fledged network connecting the smart
show meter data i.e. meter consumption, market pricing etc. meters. This is a viable option in some of the metropolitan
cities of the country as the infrastructure exists already.
IV. Smart Meter Communications C. PLCC
Smart Meter communicates with the control centre on a bi- Power Line Carrier Communication associates the use
directional mode through a module piggybacked to the meter of power conductors for communication by imposing a
via any channel. Some of the important channels that are modulated carrier frequency signal over them. The carrier
available in India are: GSM, Wi-Fi, PLCC, PSTN. The mode signal degrades gradually along the length of the line, so
of communication available depends severely on the PLCC repeaters are used to improve it by demodulation and
geographic location especially in India where not every re-modulating it on a new carrier frequency and injecting it
specific mode is available throughout. A new communication back into the power line. They are functional in many parts in
topology all over the country is a costly option. Thus the Europe and are the prime mode of communication between
communication mode used should be a combination of sub stations in the power sector. These involve special
available options. Here we present a brief description of infrastructure to be built to handle and ensure safe
technology and its viability in Indian context. communication without affecting the power transmission. It
has been implemented for many applications like home
A. GSM (2G, 3G) automation, BPL (Broadband over Power Line) etc. through
It is a second generation digital-type wireless telephone power line networking [19].
technology broadly divided into two categories based on the The power lines commissioned long ago has its roots
type of multiplexing used namely TDMA and CDMA. TDMA into many remote areas where GSM isn’t available. It helps in
involves allocation of time slots to the users sharing the connecting many backward localities for realizing AMI all
frequency channel on a rotational method while CDMA around the country. The high costs associated for
generates a unique code for each transaction and spreads it infrastructure are a barrier.
over the available frequencies in the common spectrum. 2G
D. Public Switched Telephone Network
uses digital encryption and engages various Compression-
Decompression (CODEC) algorithms for abridging and It is the interconnection of the entire telephonic
multiplexing the data. It also supports General Packet Radio communication network of the planet. It works on the concept
Service (GPRS) of circuit switching and packet switching for transmission of
The facility of 2G GSM network is widely spread in voice and data respectively establishing no permanent
many parts of the country and serves 900 million users. It is an connections. Packet switching effectively saves money as its
economic solution for the communication of smart meters as billing is based on the amount of data carried in packets but
prices are expected to be more cheaper. Implementation of this not on the time for which the channel is rented.
mode involves less new infrastructure to be built. Its improved The PSTN is one of the solutions offering to cater
security standards offer great reliability on the privacy of the various sectors of people since they have connectivity with
information being transmitted. every corner of the country owing to their setup decades ago.
3G is the third generation of mobile telephony, With the advent of Broadband through PSTN based on ADSL
successor of 2G. It is capable of higher data transmission rates they help in faster communication. The present population
which enables of split second automation.3G, which is now shifting to wireless communication from the traditional fixed
available only in major cities, is still in its primary phase of line communication has created a void in the wired telephony.
implementation and needs years to evolve into a complete This space can be used for purpose of smart metering. It is less
package. As of now it is quite expensive and hence not an hazardous to the environment compared to the other
advisable option in the present scenario. technologies. The issue with PSTN is with more people opting
out from it due to its increased price in comparison with
B. Wi-Fi wireless mode of communication, it is difficult to maintain a
Wi-Fi uses IEEE 802.11 family of standards operating uniform communication mode in a locality.
in the unlicensed 2.4GHz ISM band. It involves broadcast and
E. Zigbee
reception of data through radio signals in an encrypted format.
It works on the OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Zigbee is a wireless technology based on Direct Sequence
Multiplexing) or Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum Spread Spectrum modulation technique using low-power
transmission scheme. It offers good bandwidths and uses digital radios developed as an open standard to meet the
Wireless Protected Access (WPA) as an encryption standard requirements of short distance data transmission with minimal
but it fails to offer reliability over the system. cost. It operates in the unlicensed or ISM band of 2.4GHz
This present trend of communication is being implemented under the IEEE 802.15.4 standard of physical radio
and deployed in many parts of the country. It involves specification which defines the Physical and MAC protocol
establishment of Municipal Wi-Fi by setting up routers all layers. Zigbee offers enough bandwidths of about 250Kbps
around the locality cutting the cost of the cables. The required for the implementation of AMI and home automation.
It supports network topologies like point to point, point to
multipoint and mesh architecture. Its low power consumption
eliminates the need to change for a new battery or frequent The nodes or meters are connected to a main module
charging thereby offering good reliability. It has very low placed at distribution transformer through Zigbee in a wireless
start-on latency enabling faster response. Its range is around mesh network topology using the concept of multi-hop routing
75m and even high (1500m) for specially designed Zigbee methods thereby economizing the infrastructure and
devices (Zigbee Pro). The Zigbee device can be made to work improving the reliability. Employing 2G connectivity for each
in three modes. node is an expensive solution which can be inferred from the
following analysis. An ordinary energy meter transmits data of
1) Coordinator
nearly 34MB per month and according to the prevalent data
Known as a Full-Functioned Device (FFD) which has the
charges it amounts to nearly Rs.50. Installing Zigbee module
features of a node and an administrator. It forms the root of the
eliminates these running costs which involves only one time
system and has the capability to communicate with any other
installation of its module whose worth is around 300-500 INR.
node connected to the network. It can even act as a bridge
between two networks. It stores the information related to the
The distance between the distribution transformer
network and acts as an archive for security keys.
and the nearest residential customer ranges from 10-50 m
2) Router
which falls well in the range of Zigbee and hence it can be
This performs the duties of an intermediate device
installed to use without loss of connectivity. The data
which routes the information to a specified node in the
collected at various distribution transformers is relayed to its
network and at the same time improving the strength of the
parent substation through GSM network as the distance
signal. It routes data based on the address information
between the two varies from 1-10 km. Thus optimal utilisation
received and posts it to the respective destination.
of free and paid communications bands occurs. Thus the
module at distribution transformer works as a coordinator and
3) End Device
those at the meters as routers and nodes themselves.
It is also called Reduced-Function Device (RFD). It
has very limited functionality of just communicating with the
The module at the distribution transformer needs to
network co-ordinator. It cannot relay information from other
be designed such that it accumulates data from the smart
devices connected in the network. It has long battery life
meters in and around. This data is used to mitigate power theft
compared to other types as its operations are limited
by designing a differential type algorithm which compares the
uninvolving continuous data transmission.
power flow in and data reported by smart meters over ZigBee
V. Proposed Communication Architecture network. Thus power theft detection is an added feature of this
architecture. The distribution transformers update the
In the following section, we propose the
information to the substation through GSM network which can
communication architecture based on the analysis presented in
communicate over long ranges. Thus the module at
the previous section. As shown in the figure 7 nodes 1-7
distribution transformer is equipped with both Zigbee and
represent the customers to whom the electricity is supplied
GSM communication capabilities. In addition, the device at
through the distribution transformer shown in picture. Each distribution transformers can be devised so as to include other
meter is a node, equipped with a communication module to
Smart Grid features like self-healing, automatic fault detection
enable two way acknowledgements and data transfer between
and isolation, automated transformer protection etc.
the control centre and the user.
The data received at various substations is fed to a
main control centre through a data concentrator for analysis.
PLCC provides the best solution for transmission of this data
collected to control centre. The existing communication
channels between substations can be revamped for the data
transfer.
The primary purpose of different communication
technologies at different hierarchical level is for optimal
utilisation of resources. A direct communication link between
substation and a meter node would make it difficult to detect
the location of theft and is not practical. Thus our proposed
architecture addresses the issues above stated in Indian
scenario.

VI. Conclusion and Future Work

Figure 7. Network topology of AMI for data transmission After extensive research on existing architecture and
communication for Smart Meter, an attempt has been made to
design an effective and optimum architecture for a smart meter
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