Mitsubishi Electric makes first international smart meter system delivery to Taipower

In its first smart meter system delivery outside Japan, Mitsubishi Electric has supplied Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) a headend system as the central point for managing and controlling smart meters, as well as communication modules to be embedded into the smart meters and data concentrator units.

The system is already in partial operation and was supplied in a cooperation between Mitsubishi, system integrator Glory Technology Service and Taiwan’s leading telecommunications company Chunghwa Telecom.

Mitsubishi Electric’s BLEnDer headend system is a software package responsible for the core functions of smart meter infrastructure, including data collection and communication control, and is flexibly compatible with various communication methods.

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According to Mitsubishi Electric, the smart-meter system was evaluated in Japan for its high connectivity, scalability, flexibility robust security measures and stable operational performance, leading to the order.

The solution utilises a low-cost communication method to form its own mesh network that connects smart meters in each home for wide-area communication.

The key, they state, is the system’s use of wireless multi-hop communication in which modules repeatedly transfer data to each other in ‘bucket’ (grouped) relays for wide-area communication.

Smart meters installed in each home are connected to the wireless multi-hop communication network to automate the collection of data on power consumption, etc. If communication via one route is interrupted, the system automatically searches for a redundant route.

The announcement comes in as Taiwan is aggressively adopting renewable energy in response to fast-rising fuel costs and the global trend toward decarbonisation.

Taipower, Taiwan’s state-owned power utility, began deploying a smart meter system in 2018 to improve its power demand and supply management.

The system uses wireless communication to connect smart meters in every home to the company’s servers to collect information on power consumption and meter status, and to perform information command and control for advanced management of power supply and demand.

While the installation of smart meters in every home will require the development of a large-scale, wide-area communication network, the goal is to minimise the cost and time of system construction to avoid a significant increase in electricity rates.