Pepco Holdings, Inc. Using Advanced Meterings Capabilities in the Collection Process

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Pepco Holdings, Inc.Using Advanced
Meterings Capabilities in the Collection Process

• 2008 AGA Uncollectibles Workshop
• Todd McGregor
• Program Manager Advanced Metering

Park City, UT October 1, 2008
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Todays Presentation

• Business Overview
• PHIs Smart Grid Vision
• Advanced Metering Infrastructure
• Connect/Disconnect Switch Technology
• Benefits
• Process, Labor and Regulatory Implications
• Revenue Protection Using the MDMS

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Business Overview
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Business Overview
Regulatory Diversity
New Jersey 20
Virginia 1
District of Columbia 23
Delaware 17
Maryland 39
Diversified Customer Mix
Residential 35
Commercial 46
Government 10
Industrial 9
2006 MWh Sales
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PHI Smart Grid - Key Components

• Putting decision making in the hands of customers
• Provide improved information, programs and
  pricing options that will allow customers to make
  informed energy choices
• Give customers better information about their
  service and use
• Automatically accommodating changing conditions
• Isolate fault, expeditious automatic restoration
• Reroute power flows, change load patterns,
  improve voltage profiles
• Minimal workforce intervention, auto notification
  for corrective actions and maintenance activities
• Design and operate with greater efficiency
• Better asset management optimize grid design
• Optimized grid operations
• Greater reliability and security
• Promote green energy initiatives and enable
  distributed, renewable energy resources to
  participate

Many of these key components focus on energy
efficiency and conservation while improving
customer service.
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PHI Smart Grid Footprint
Transmission More integration
Comm. Infrastructure
Transmission Substation
Workforce Management
AMI/DSM
Smart Substation Feeder Automation Intelligent
Sensors
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Smart Grid builds on the Communication and
Information Infrastructure
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PHI Blueprint AMI Technology Overview
Central Operations
AMI System
Collector IP Addressable
Home
Electric / Gas Operations
Public/Private Network
RF
M D M S
C I S
PHI Substation or Other Facility Option
Repeater
Fiber
RF
Zigbee
AMI Head End
Zigbee
Meter / Gas Module
Customer Operations
PHI WAN Backhaul
AMI LAN
HAN
D
B
C
A
Meter
Collector
PHI HQ
Smart Stat / Appliances
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Timed release facilitates delivery of benefits,
reduces system development cycle time and
mitigates risks associated with complex
transformations
Pre - Deployment
- Illustrative -
Full Deployment
Level of Functionality Delivered
Advanced Customer Analytics
Release 3
Release 2
Integration of AMI with Operational Systems
Total Meters Installed
Meter Installation and Remote Meter Reading
Release 1
Full Scale Deployment Begins
Time
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Connect/Disconnect Switch Example FOCUS
AX-SDRelay Motor Sub-Assy

• Proven technology - same relay used in AMPY
  prepay meter
• Contact actuation is cam-driven by relay motor
• Cam-drive provides higher force compared to
  spring contacts on solenoid disconnect switches.
• High contact force greatly reduces welded
  contacts due to surge currents.

Cut-away view
Slide Prepared by Landis Gyr
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Connect/Disconnect Switch ExampleLine/Load
Blade Assemblies

• Copper current blade width 5/8
• Line side of relay has 3 flexible contacts
• Contact material is silver (low resistance)

• One-piece current coil construction no welds
• Load side of switch has fixed silver contacts

Slide Prepared by Landis Gyr
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Connect/Disconnect Switch Example Motor Control
Board

• Solid-state low voltage DC motor drive
• Energy to activate switch stored in capacitor
  no large current surge
• Switch can be reliably activated on any test
  board
• Switch activation works under low-line
  conditions unlike AC solenoid designs

Slide Prepared by Landis Gyr
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Benefits
Quantified Benefits in Business Case Substitute
a remote disconnection and reconnection for a
field visit on a past due account. PHI
completes about 135,000 field visits per year
with about 53,000 cuts and 22,000 field
collections. Close to 90 of the field visits
are to residential premises. Substitute a remote
disconnection and reconnection for a field visit
for a customer requested turn-on or turn-off.
Two of PHIs three operating companies follow a
hard disconnect policy. As a result about 33,000
labor hours per year that are expended on field
visits to conduct this type of work could be
eliminated. Other Potential Benefits Reduction
in uncollectible expense and aged receivables by
disconnecting service at lower account balance
levels. For example, automatically disconnect
past due accounts when they reach some threshold
such as 200 dollars rather todays balances
which, on average, run in the range of 900 to
1,100 for residential customers. Remotely
configurable load limiting. Prepaid
functionality, for example in college areas where
a parent could pay for power for a semester up
front.
Deck 5
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Process Redesign Current State
Disconnect/Reconnect for Credit Purposes
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Process Redesign Future State
Disconnect/Reconnect for Credit Purposes
GET TO MORE PAST DUE ACCOUNTS SOONER
BOTTLENECK ELIMINATED
FASTER RECONNECTION CYCLE TIME
POSSIBLE NEW BOTTLENECK AUTOMATE!!
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Labor Implications

• Will only need field collection personnel for the
  AMI meters without the remote disconnect switch
  (greater than 200 AMP)
• Opportunity to increase field personnel dedicated
  to revenue protection investigation work.
• May need fewer back office clerical personnel but
  may want to add more decision support analysts.

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Regulatory Issues

• Requirement or past practice of collecting past
  due accounts at the customers premises or
  otherwise visit the customers premises prior to
  disconnection.
• Perceptions of impacts on low income customers or
  other customers with financial hardships.
• Pizza box story

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Defining Revenue Assurance
RPS

• Administrative losses uncollected debt, customer
  on wrong tariff
• Commercial losses theft from known accounts,
  unmetered accounts
• Technical losses Line losses, pipeline leakage
  and vented gas

Slide Prepared by Itron
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RPS Application Architecture
Premise Information Meter Information Customer
Information Historical P4 Readings Data
Utility In-House Data
Weather Data
IEE System
-- Actual KWh -- Expected KWh --
Tamper Flags -- Average Demand -- Energy
Rebates -- SIC / NAICS
RPS Datamart
-- AMR, AMI, FN Data -- Tamper Flags
-- Actual kWh -- Daily Updates -- Service
Orders
MDM Database
Daily feed
collection engine
AMI Collection System
Readings Tamper Flags
RPS Application Filter, Excuse List Sort by
customer etc.
Slide Prepared by Itron
Suspect List Export File
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How does RPS work?
Revenue Investigator can filter candidate list by
different parameters such as of tampers,
deviation from baseline consumption, and more.
Nightly automated process analyzes consumption
data and compares effective usage to baseline
usage, then merges results with tamper
information.
Sort suspect list by route, ZIP code, and more to
create report, or export file for field
investigation.
Suspect Lists for Field Investigation
Suspect List
Candidate List
Slide Prepared by Itron