A communication infrastructure for South Western Electricity

In response to deregulation, many UK regional electricity companies (RECs) are considering redesigning their communication to meet this and other business requirements. This paper presents a proposed communication infrastructure for South Western Electricity plc. The company services a wide variety of customers in the south west of England. The supporting technology, REC and customer benefits, together with valued added services (VAS) are addressed. The SWEB communication system consists of a microwave radio network which is used for telephony, VHF radio, and data traffic. The applications of the communication system include automated meter reading, load management, quality monitoring and billing.