Kamstrup unveils new smart electricity meter

Technology firm Kamstrup has introduced a new smart electricity meter to enhance its offering within the advanced metering market.

The new OMNIA smart electricity meter is based on cellular IoT, a communications standard that continues to see widespread adoption within the utility industry, as energy companies and technology vendors seek to develop a resilient network for fast and secure data telemetry. The new meter complement’s the company’s existing OMNIPOWER RF mesh-based meter platform, according to a statement.

Mikkel Winther Johansen, Product Manager, said: “It’s important to us to be able to cater to different needs, and with the new addition to our meter portfolio, it’s up to our customers to decide whether they want to jump the IoT train straight away or stick to the tried-and-tested RF solution, only gradually making the transition. Both have their benefits, so it’s really a matter of what suits the utilities’ individual needs.”

The application of cellular IoT communications for smart meter connectivity has over the past years been under scrutiny with Kamstrup amongst the companies working with the technology.

The maturity of the communications technology and widespread adoption owing to partnerships on research and development between industry stakeholders has resulted in the development of a smart meter that is based on cellular IoT. Such a smart meter will help utilities reap benefits including the flexibility of the meter for use in various geographical and weather conditions and communications networks, the high capacity and speed at which data is sent and processed by the meter and the low cost.

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The new smart electricity meter can automatically switch between different cellular IoT technologies meaning energy companies can rely on different solution providers. The smart meter is open to support future technological and firmware advancement.

Johansen, added: “Continuous innovation helps our customers capitalise on their smart meter investment, also in the long term. A lot can happen in the lifetime of a smart metering solution, so by constantly incorporating new technologies and standards we ensure that the solution they buy remains relevant throughout the years and help them mitigate risk.”

Kamstrup will manufacture the new OMNIA e-meter at its factory in Denmark.

The launch of the smart meter comes at a time utilities are accelerating the installation of advanced meters as part of their digital transformation journey and to address challenges associated with the increased integration of grid networks with distributed energy resources.

In addition, smart meters are helping utilities to protect their revenue and introduce new business cases such as demand response and smart home services.