Energy and powerNews

Colorado Springs Utilities upgrades smart meter data management system

In the US, Colorado Springs Utilities has successfully modernised its smart meter data management system to enhance the acquisition, processing, storage, and utilisation of data regarding consumer energy usage and grid operations.

The project was implemented in partnership with Red Clay Consulting, which also provided management services to keep the smart meter installation and operation programme on track.

The new meter data management (MDM) system processes data from more than 600,000 smart metering devices installed for water, gas, and electricity customers. The MDM has also been integrated with more than 20 existing systems to optimise customer experience and smart grid operations.

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Smart metering
Data and analytics

Melissa Richardson, general manager of customer services at Colorado Springs Utilities, said the MDM will help transform the way the utility operates through the introduction of new digital services and optimisation of existing ones.

She said the project will enable the company to “provide customers with a better overall experience. With the new meters, we’ll be able to provide additional usage data to customers to aid them in managing their utilities usage and leveraging our rate options to reduce their bills.”

The smart meter project will help the energy provider to automate a wide range of business processes including consumer billing and fault detection. New business cases that are expected to result from the installation of the advanced metering infrastructure include Time of Use energy billing.

In addition, smart meters have the potential to help the utility to speed up its transition to renewable energy by matching energy demand with generation or available flexible energy.

The utility has set a target to retire its coal energy generation assets in 2030. This August the utility’s Martin Drake Power Plant received its last supply of coal before retirement in 2022. Find out more about this here.