Metering for small scale energy retailing

As the UK and other energy markets continue to evolve and mature, electricity suppliers will no longer exclusively be large organisations with millions of customers and extensive resources. This paper presents the experience of one supplier (St Pancras Housing Association-SPHA) who has a totally different approach and objectives. In 1995, SPHA needed to replace the boilers at one of its largest properties. They were encouraged to think about the possibility of CHP by government funded bodies, who were also able to offer a significant subsidy on the project. The CHP system is described. The electrical distribution system in the property was purchased from the public electricity supplier. The system was metered at one point. The system chosen was based around PRI´s CALMU meters and associated billing system, running on a Windows PC. This paper describes the background, legal issues, implementation and subsequent experience of running such a system for several years