Smart Metering, Billing & Payment

What is SMART metering. Before SMART you should know some other details.

City Gas Network

City Gas is probably the last utility enters in any city. Natural Gas supply from City Gate Station to CNG Stations and District Regulating Stations (DRS) are through underground steel pipe lines. CNG Stations are compressing and delivering at 200 Bars for automobiles. DRS are basically a pressure reduction skid. DRS is reducing pressure at 4 Bars. Natural Gas at 4 Bars is push into Medium Density Poly Ethylene pipelines (MDPE). MDPE pipelines are connecting all medium/low pressure NG customers.

PNG Customers

Prior to Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board formation, City Gas companies were concentrating their effort to establish CNG stations. CNG Stations to reduce Air pollution. Their major effort in connecting PNG connections were to Industrial and commercial (I&C) customers. Same Gas network were optimized and provided domestic connections.

PNGRB rules were notified in 2008. PNGRB puts their effort to maximize PNG Domestic connections. PNGRB adopted it through tendering Geographical areas with targets given by bidders. After 9th and 10th round of PNGRB bidding, massive nos. of cities were allotted. These cities were won with huge PNG connection targets. Few disputes have registered and resolved by PNGRB.

PNG domestic targets are multi fold of the existing nos. Equipment for PNG Domestic connections are required in a huge numbers. Major components in connecting a PNG customers (Industrial, Commercial or Domestic) customers are defined as below:

Above items and fitting may differ slightly in case to case.

I&C customers are high volume and high profit customers. Smart metering can be seen in few nos. In case of huge domestic nos. which will be connected certainly. After one time connection these can’t be left idle. There will be requirement of Opps, Safety requirement and Bi monthly billing.

Present scenario of bi-monthly billing-Domestic

PNG Domestic billing should complete at interval of two months. This is as per PNGRB. To collect bi-monthly meter reading, City Gas companies are giving contract to third party contractors. These contractors are hiring local manpower. These manpower visits all domestic customer’s premise and collect meter readings. This is the typical system of collecting meter readings. Mostly CGDs are doing this.

Meter reading collecting procedure

Manually

Contract manpower collects reading and write on a register. Normally he can visit and collects 60 to 80 houses in a day. That hand written meter reading entered in a PC in (Microsoft Excel). There are huge chances of mistake in entries.

Collection through Mobile Phones

Few other CGDs have developed android based software. Contract manpower visits and collects meter reading in android based software.

Spot Billing

On spot bill printing system was adopted from monthly billing system of electric supply. This is a good practice. This need updated customer’s data at the time of spot billing. Otherwise payment updation, arrears and other complaints will arise.

Spot billing is a perfect system but it has many limitations. Handling of large customer spread is not an easy task.

Walk by system

Walk by system is a semi smart billing system. This have two parts. One retrofit device is fitted on domestic customer’s diaphragm meter. This device activates when it receives signals from walk by device. One person carrying walk by device and moving in a colony. It collects all meter readings from customer’s meter and save it.

This bulk data download in a suitable billing software for bill generation.

SMART SYSTEM for City Gas

SMART has few steps:

1-Fetching meter reading data from each domestic, commercial and industrial customer and dump in a Server.

2-Data dump in SERVER use an auto correction file to upload in billing module.

3-After correction System generates bill and send to customer mobile no and email.

4-Customer checks the bill and pay online with the link provided.

Smart Metering System

Smart metering system is a inbuilt or rettrofitment of an electronic device on a Natural Gas meter. This device runs on either GSM or LoRaWAN. This device captures meter reading in an interval of 60 days or when ever it receives command. Meter reading transmit to a server and recorded against customer’s unique identity nos.

SMART metering is fetching data from customer’s premise without any manual intervention or meter reader’s visit.

SMART billing system

Data receives from Smart metering system can easily be billed with the help of a programmed software. It may be any form of software like SAP, Oracle, any ERP or customized software. After bill generation, a message must send to customer’s mobile as an intimation of bill. This must be similar to any utility, mobile, electricity, credit card, phone recharge, should fee etc. Billing software used by telecommunication companies are most trusted and checked.

SMART payment

Customer can pay immediate online payment with the help of various online payment mode. Customer should get confirmation of payment receive at CGD end.

Mind Set of City Gas Companies

Various City Gas companies have their mind set that Smart metering & billing system is an expensive project. Conventional and manual system is good. There is a resistance to change for a advance, effective, efficient, productive, cost saving and time saving system.

An analysis-Cost effective

Based on a sample case of 5000 customers, manual metering system cost is calculated. In some companies their cost may be less still. But after that they must facing huge nos. of customer complaints of late billing, wrong billing, arrears, not receipt of bill, improper Gas reconciliation, Gas loss, non payment, late payment, bounce cheque and direct monetary loss. An analysis is attached for calculation of billing cost / customer / 10 years.

Conclusion

This cost may be calculated for any City Gas company. This shall be more in some times. But to connect large nos. of PNG domestic customers, SMART metering system is only solution at low cost. Installation of SMART metering system shall be more or less to this figure. But this shall be hassle free.

For a case of 100000 Customers, SMART metering system shall be certainly less expansive, less complaints, timely and right billing and monthly Gas Reconciliation to minimize Gas loss. Happy City Gas and Happy Customer.

SMART is SMART