Application of A-Band LV power line standards for remote metering at populous residential buildings

Deregulation of the energy supply market is occurring in many parts of the world. Such an occurrence leads to freer customer choice and open market competition. This change will inevitably transform the meter reading market. No longer will manual reading of the energy consumption be adequate. A full-scale effort to automate the kilowatt-hour (kWh) meter reading will become a necessity. Of all available media used in the transmission of the meter reading, only power line communication medium is cost-effective to the energy suppliers since the infrastructure of the low-voltage (LV) power network can also be used as a telecommunication network. Remote meter reading through power line medium has rarely been implemented in high-rise, densely populated buildings. The large quantity of kWh meters in high-rise buildings, particularly of residential type, offers a potential business opportunity. Automating the kWh meter reading through the LV power line communication medium forms the basis of this work. However, the power line is a hostile communication medium and it is essential to know its characteristics. This paper describes a prototype automated meter reading system, using the power lines communication medium and frequency shift keying modulation, operating in the EN 50065-1 A Band. Its performance and reliability aspects are also presented.