Metering.com 23 June 2017
A new Navigant Research study examines whether North American utilities can leverage data from AMI to change the way energy efficiency programme measurement is conducted.
According to Navigant Research, many North American utilities remain unsure about the possibilities of analytic techniques and data granularity, and this uncertainty is compounded by the fact that new firms seem to emerge each year, claiming to provide increasingly deep insights into customers’ energy reduction potential by using little more than consumption data from the utility.
In a statement, Navigant Research says if broadly available across all customer sectors, AMI data has the potential to enhance the traditional measurement and verification (M&V) model with respect to quantifying costs and benefits.
Brett Feldman, a principal research analyst at Navigant Research, commenting on the use of smart meter data in evaluating efficiency projects, said: “Using AMI data to estimate program impacts has the potential to lower evaluation costs by eliminating or reducing the need for field or survey-based verification.
“In addition, results can be delivered more quickly than those found through traditional evaluation, as analysis can be performed as soon as data becomes available.”
Energy consumption data and AMI rollout
Meanwhile, in the UK, a speech delivered by Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed the UK government has extended the duration of its smart meter rollout programme by five years.
According to the Sun, the UK prime minister said the deployment of smart meters for gas, electric and water consumers will now be completed in 2025 instead of 2020.
The extension in the duration of the programme is to give more time for the government to design and implement policies supporting the implementation of the advanced metering infrastructure.
In addition to the extension of the timeline of the project, the UK government said the use of smart meters by UK consumers will no longer be mandatory but rather optional. Consumers will now be allowed to opt out of the programme.
By launching the smart meter rollout programme in 2007, UK Ministry of Power targeted to achieve annual energy savings of up to £300million in 2020 by helping consumers improve energy efficiency through access to energy consumption data.
The announcement follows the installation of 7 million AMI units in UK homes. The UK has more than 50 million metering points.
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