Experimenting remote kilowatthour meter reading through low-voltage power lines at dense housing estates

Deregulation, freer customer choice, and open market competition are occurring in the energy supply market. These changes necessitate the automating of kilowatthour (kWh) reading for most energy suppliers. Power lines are readily available and making the full use of them is most desirable to the energy suppliers. However, power line is a hostile communication environment and it is imperative to know its characteristics. This paper describes a prototype automated meter reading system using the power lines and frequency shift keying modulation operating in the EN 50065-1 A Band. Its performance and reliability aspects are also presented.