AMR

AUTOMATIC METER READING

 PREVIEW

• OVERVIEW OF PRESENT BILLING SYSTEM

• AMR : SALIENT FEATURES

– TECH ASPECTS

– COST ANALYSIS

– IMPACT ON REV COLLECTION

– BENEFITS / CHALLENGES

• COMPARISON WITH OTHER ALTERNATIVES

• SCREENSHOTS OF AMR ‘MOB APP’ AND ‘DESKTOP’

OVERVIEW
 SHORTCOMINGS : CURRENT PROCESSES
• DEFI OF METER READERS.
• MANUAL PROCESS.
• BILLING DATA AGAIN FED MANUALLY TO GENERATE RECOVERY STATEMENT.
• LONG METER READING AND BILLING CYCLES (QTRLY).
• ERRORS IN METER READING PROCESS LEADING TO USER CRITICISM.
• LATE NOTIFICATION OF NON-WORKING METERS.
• DIS-JOINTED PROCESS FOR
– METER DATA COLLECTION
– CONSUMPTION CALCULATION
– BILLING AND PAYMENT.
AMR
 OVERVIEW : AMR

GPRS INTERNET

DCU

AMR

USERS MES BILLING/CDA

RF MESH
 AMR : TECH DETAILS

• AMR READY METERS WORKS WITH RF TECH / MODEM CONNECTIVITY.

• METERS COMMUNICATE WITH THE DCU (DATA COLLECTION UNIT) VIA RF MESH.
• ONE DCU / 50 METERS.
• THE METER TO METER OR METER TO DCU DISTANCE < 40 M.
• DCU PROVIDES THE DATA VIA 2G SIM TO THE SOFTWARE.
• DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING FREQ : 30 MIN, 24 X 7.
• DAILY AND MONTHLY METER READING/CONSUMPTION READILY AVAILABLE.
• PROVISION OF CONSUMPTION CALCULATION AND BILLING.
• BILLING DATA AVAILABLE TO THE ADMIN AS WELL AS THE USERS.
 AMR : COST ANALYSIS
• ONE TIME COSTS / METER
– SINGLE PHASE METER AND INSTALLATION WORK RS 4300
– DCU (FOR 35 METERS) RS 29000
– SOFTWARE AND SERVICES RS 1400
– SERVER AND DATA CENTRE (UPTO 5000 METERS) RS 500000
• RECURRING COSTS (YEARLY)
– METER AND SOFTWARE AMC RS 400
– DATA CENTRE, SERVER MANAGEMENT AND INTERNET RS 75000
• AVERAGE COST PER METER RS 8300
• ESTIMATED COST FOR 3500 METERS INCLUDING 5 YEARS SUPPORT RS 2.9 CR
BENEFITS / CHALLENGES
 AMR : BENEFITS/CHALLENGES
BENEFITS
• PLUG AND PLAY SOLUTION (NO ADDITIONAL WIRING).
• DATA IS AVAILABLE ON INTERNET/CLOUD.
• NO ADDL ‘IT’ SUPPORT STAFF REQUIRED AT MES END.
• MANUAL DATA CAN ALSO BE UPLOADED INTO THE SAME SYSTEM.
• MOBILE APP/DESKTOP/IOS INTERFACE AVAILABLE FOR THE USERS/ADMIN.
• QUICK DETECTION OF NON WORKING METER.
• MONITORING OF ALL ELECTRICAL PARAMETERS SUCH AS POWER, CURRENT,
VOLTAGE, POWER FACTOR ETC.
• INTEGRATED SOLUTION WITH ROLE BASED ACCESS TO THE ADMIN AND USERS.

CHALLENGES
• FUNDS AVAILABILITY.
• DISPOSAL OF THE EXISTING METERS.
• IT TRG OF THE MES STAFF SUCH AS BSO TEAM.
 COMPARISON
AVAILABLE ALTERNATIVES
 COMPARISON : AMR V/S PREPAID
S AMR PREPAID
NO
1 ACHIEVES COMPLETE AUTOMATION BENEFICIAL WHERE THE PAYMENT DEFAULT IS
THE MAIN CONCERN
2 REDUCTION IN MANPOWER REQMT ADDL MAN POWER REQD
3 MINIMAL DIRECT USER DEALING SIGNIFICANT DIRECT DEALING (ADDL MAN
(MAN POWER REDUCTION) POWER REQUIRED)
4 NO FINANCIAL RECONCILIATION REQD SIGNIFICANT RECONCILIATION EFFORT REQD

5 CONVENIENT TO THE USERS .PAYMENT CUMBERSOME. USER NEEDS TO VISIT

DEDUCTED THROUGH THE SALARY BANK/DEPT/NET BANKING FOR MONEY TFR

6 INFO AVAILABLE ONLINE IN CONVENTIONAL PREPAID USER CAN NOT

VIEW THE DATA ONLINE
7 ANY AMBIGUITY IN METERING IS MONTHLY/ PERIODIC PROCESS
IDENTIFIED IMMEDIATELY.

• TECH AVAILABLE TO COMBINE AMR AND PREPAID. COST TWICE AS EXPENSIVE AS AMR