Smart meters
A power distribution company came up with a revolutionary product named the ‘smart meter’. smart meters are Iot devices that can log meter readings every 15 minutes. the reading are textual in nature and are logged in text files. they allow electricity providers
to have access to meter data periodically. Previously, this data was gathered once a month. Now, the frequency has increased to every 15 minutes in any given day. As the readings are taken every 15 minutes, consumers can be charged differently for peak and off-peak hours. By analysing the daily power consumption patterns of customers, the power supplier can formulate an accurate demand curve during peak hours. This demand curve helps it generate adequate power during peak hours, saving a lot of money and avoiding wastage. Also, because of smart meters, suppliers stopped sending a dedicated person for meter readings, which led to a reduction in logistic expenses.
From a consumer’s perspective, the smart meter comes with a lot of benefits. For example, consider a service provider that comes up with a lower tariff for night usage for every customer. Based on the facts retrieved after analysing meter reading data, the provider observes that nighttime is off-peak hours. So to ensure load balancing, it starts providing nighttime usage to customers at a lower tariff. This means that consumers shift some of their activities, such as the usage of a washing machine or dishwasher, to off-peak hours. This way, the company becomes more efficient in managing peak time demands, resulting in savings for both itself and its consumers.
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