Urban utilities warm up to the idea of wireless automatic meter reading

While Italy´s ENEL SpA heralds in the new world of automatic meter reading, the colossal utility service provider is not alone in this massive endeavour. Literally hundreds of AMR projects are being deployed worldwide from as far away as Australia and Argentina to as close as Germany and Greece. The advent of deregulation in the utility market and the technological advances in control communications has made it possible for utility service providers all over the world to take advantage of the benefits of AMR. In addition to automated meter reading, AMR systems enable load balancing and distribution, rapid identification of power faults, and remote service activation or deactivation. An AMR system can save a utility service provider million of euros per year in efficiency and maintenance fees. The key to successful wireless AMR deployment is to carefully consider the wireless technology and to put into place a long-lasting, intelligent system that meet the challenges of the residential urban metering environment by addressing interference and data reliability, and by providing long battery life.