Solutions: Meter Analysis (AMI)

Using the dataVoice Outage System in conjunction with your AMI system, personnel from many different departments can tap into a wealth of data to better manage and analyze power problems in the utility network. dataVoice provides integrations with most AMI solutions and allows utility representatives to use the following tools within the outage management system:

 

  • Check Individual or Downline Meter Status - An individual status ping/voltage check can be requested prior to sending a repair crew onsite. This is extremely helpful after hours and can save considerable time and money in unnecessary dispatching. Request a meter ping from the Create Incident page, the list of Open Incidents, or the dataVoice Map Viewer. Connectivity meter pinging can be used to verify the source of an outage and confirm the restoration of power to meters.
  • Check Meter Voltage - Often a customer will call to report that lights are dim. Performing a voltage check allows the utility to determine if the customer is experiencing low voltage.

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    Meter Blinks
  • AMI Blink Analysis - This analysis tool provides utilities with the ability to predict the likely source of a problem based on the blinks reported by the AMI system. dataVoice imports the blink history from the AMI units daily and combines this data with the geospatial connectivity and OMS history. The system then stores the daily data in a database for a period of one year. There are several tools available for analysis of this valuable data. dataVoice provides a summary report of the number of blinks by Substation and Feeder, and provides trends to show either an increase, or an improvement in the blink history. dataVoice also provides a map view with layers for outages and AMI blink reports to allow the user to easily identify reoccurring blink reports that were not associated with outages. Users can select different colors to indicate the severity of blinks reported. Since users are able to see the electric network, devices, outages and phasing in this map view, it allows them to quickly see repetitive blinks that are behind devices and better isolate probable device failures. This report also creates a WMS layer to view the results in ESRI. The data can also be exported to a CSV file, for the utility to analyze and create their own MAIFI reports.
  • Metering Point Status Indication - This layer will provide quick visual notification to the operations department when the communication between the AMI System and the substation becomes extremely slow, or is lost completely. During these times, it will allow the operations department to operate more efficiently by immediately notifying the correct party to resolve the communication issue, or simply by knowing they will probably not receive AMI notifications of outages or restorations for those substations in a timely manner. Substations with a good communication signal are indicated in green, those with a “slow poll” indication will be highlighted in yellow, and those substations with “no communication” will be represented in red.
  • AMI Communication Errors - In the event the AMI system is having trouble communicating to a specific meter, the system will highlight the locations of the COMM Errors on the dataVoice Map Viewer. The color of the highlighted location will be darker as the number of communication failures received during that time period increases.
  • 24 Hour No Pulse/No Usage - In some situations, AMI meters can fail to report their usage as scheduled. This can indicate a problem with the meter, or possibly a power outage. Meters that are continually not providing their usage, will be highlighted in the meter map viewer. This would allow the operations department to quickly see meters that are not providing hourly usage information, and notify the metering department to investigate the meter further.
  • Reverse Rotations - When the AMI system detects a tamper or reverse rotation, the dataVoice map viewer will indicate the location of that meter with a blue circle. These tampers can then be assigned to the appropriate personnel, or tagged with a note to indicate the proper procedures to follow to deal with the tamper alert. For example, if the tamper was received from a home where utility personnel could be in danger if they approach the customer directly, the note could indicate, “Please call for police escort.”