Real-Time Pricing
Real-time pricing (RTP) of electricity - pricing that changes in intervals of 15 minutes to an hour - has always been touted as a critical component of energy efficiency programs because it provides the potential for electricity consumers to reduce consumption at peak load hours when the grid is straining for resources and prices are higher due supply and demand. Larger commercial and industrial customers have been taking advantage of real-time pricing for a number of years. The ability to curb consumption during peak demand hours saves industry billions of dollars annually, and contributes to the efficiency of our nation’s grid systems. Taking advantage of real-time pricing starts with a meter that is capable of recording interval data and communicating that data in a way that allows consumers to adjust consumption and market operators to adjust generation and distribution. While time of use meters have been the mainstay for large C&I customers, many regions of the country are now installing “smart meters” for mass-market residential applications. In the past, the success of these system deployments have been hindered by the unreliability of RF mesh networks. RF networks have been the traditional choice for these pilot projects primarily due to the perceived lower cost of data communication fees. RF networks also require expensive infrastructure to support them, and utilities are struggling to figure out how they are going to pay for this.
Whether it’s for C&I or residential applications, meters and endpoints equipped with Metrum IP over wireless devices require no additional infrastructure and are ready to go right out of the box with over the air activation and programming. And Metrum’s new, data-only, managed wireless network has reduced monthly data charges to the point where they are now more than competitive with RF Mesh networks.
Whether it’s for C&I or residential applications, meters and endpoints equipped with Metrum IP over wireless devices require no additional infrastructure and are ready to go right out of the box with over the air activation and programming. And Metrum’s new, data-only, managed wireless network has reduced monthly data charges to the point where they are now more than competitive with RF Mesh networks.