Importance of Smart Meters Data Processing – Case of Saudi Arabia

This paper presents a thorough analysis of 30-minute data sets of KSA residential digital meters to identify all possible discrepancies in the data sets and devise statistical techniques best suited to remove these discrepancies as per the nature of each discrepancy. The analysis is performed through a program that was developed in Python-Pandas. The program parses through three month's meter measurements of 3,283 consumers throughout KSA and detects data inconsistencies, duplicates, missing and outlier values and other issues in the data sets. Statistical techniques that are part of the program are then implemented to correct for these issues. A validation process was developed and included in the program to ensure the adjustment process produces the best reliable outcomes. Analysis indicates that smart meters data have issues that need preprocessing to be used for other applications. The outcome of the program developed shows that smart meters measurement outcome data set could be considered as a valid and trusted, which can be used for smart grid applications such as behavioral analysis of the electricity consumers.