An AMR study in an Indian utility

The automatic metering system (AMR) study was done as part of a 3-part study for Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply (BSES), now known as reliance energy (Rel Energy), which includes network optimization (NO) and distribution automation (DA) study. The AMR study was done over a 4-month period in a 2-stage process. The first stage was done through detail reviews of design of existing electrical network and metering/billing processes, leading to the identification of losses and ascertaining the costs of entire operations. The second stage seeks to design a new meter-to-bill business process with front end AMR acquisition system, backend commercial processes with various technologies, fraud detection and deployment options. These technical options and their respective capital expenditure (CAPEX), return on investments (ROI) and possible benefits will be used as part of the justification process. The results, together with the rest of the studies, had discovered a very optimal design, sharing integrated results and common platforms through various approaches, that allows the most cost-effective approach in optimizing the utility's investments