You would come across references to AMI or an Advanced Meter Infrastructure system quite often these days. Such a system comprises a smart meter that is installed at the premises of the consumer, a meter data management application or an MDMA and a communications network between the utility service and the smart meter. The smart meter is equipped to transmit price signals to the control centre within the residential premises. The smart meter is equipped to record and store the data based on hourly consumption, to provide a report of the power supply status and to switch off the power supply of the entire home.
A record of the prices and the control signals are transmitted to the smart meter via the communications network that comes with the system. It is also equipped to send relevant information about the hourly electricity consumptions and facts such as whether particular appliances are in use and whether there is continuous power supply to the home. The meter reading systems that have been in use so far are not equipped with this kind of functionality. On the contrary, meter readings are collected once every month.
The popularity of the advanced meter infrastructure system can be attributed to the fact that the utilities benefit to a great extent from investments in such a system, especially when it comes to the distribution systems. The labour costs are substantially reduced as there is no need to employ staff for reading meters. The recruitment is centred on employing people for devising and creating such meters and their installation. Most of the advanced meter infrastructure jobs can be found in this field.
The utilities are taking to the AMI to enable customers to cut down on their electricity use considerably, especially during peak hours of the day. It makes the customer more conscious about their energy requirements and the extent to which they need to curb their usage.
Various applications of the AMI technology are currently been planned and developed and are awaiting deployment from the utilities side. The distribution network has been enabled by the introduction of a smart grid. Smart grid plans abound for the utilities. These include efforts towards grid automation, electric vehicle preparation, integration of energy sourced from renewable sources and system optimisation. Initiatives have also been taken to develop new ways of increasing energy efficiency and to make use of clean and environment friendly sources of energy.
All these tasks are carried out by professionals who have a sound technical background and extensive knowledge about such advanced meters. Thus it comes across as no surprise that AMI jobs demand experienced people. However , this does not imply that there is not much scope for people who are just starting out with their careers.
It is also necessary to educate the customer on this front as they are not familiar with the functional aspect of the system. Without this there would obviously be a lack of acceptance when it comes to adopting this new system. Lack of knowledge may end up becoming a hindrance to its popularity.