British Gas Business End to End AMM SME Solution
The AMR project delivered an Automated Meter Management (AMM) solution to British Gas Business’s SME customers that included:
- providing the meter
- installing the meter
- maintaining the meter throughout the full life cycle of the meter
- remote retrieval of the meter data
- processing the data ready for billing
When customers receive regular and accurate consumption data it allows them to predict and influence energy costs in a way that was never previously possible for the majority of consumers.
Secure and reliable data is at the heart of any successful AMM solution. It is not simply a case of choosing suitable hardware and software, but rather, the focus should be on selecting a technical solution that meets the Customer’s needs and has ease of deployment.
G4S Utility Services worked with Iskraemeco and, after extensive in house testing, decided to use their ME372 and MT375 second generation smart meters with a dual chip set, market proven firmware and integral GSM/GPRS (SMS) communication. This is a superb instrument and first time read rates were actually increased from 96.43% to 99.17% during the project (first meter fitted 10 months ago). Designed on DLMS/ COSEM open platform standards, these devices meet the inter-exchangeability rules and regulations and have the ability of future upgrade with dual fuel reading option in mind. Components are tested for life expectancy of 15 years and have full OFFGEM/MID approvals, plus they are quality controlled by ISO 9000:2000 standard and environment certificate ISO 14001. Remote disconnect and reconnect function of the meter was another important factor in choosing this meter for the trial.
G4S Utility Services relied on having both leading edge technology and extensive field management experience to achieve high levels of access to the business premises. This was very important in managing the consumer relationship on behalf of British Gas Business.
Delivering the data to a high level of accuracy whilst maintaining a positive experience for the consumer are the two key elements why British Gas Business declared this project a complete success.
