The company will now start evaluation for the broader scale migration from Itron’s RF Mesh smart meter architecture to the IPv6 network using 40,000 of the over 1.8 million currently installed meters.
Having installed 97% of the meters throughout British Columbia, Canada, and converting 1.75 million customers to automated billing, the company is currently using Itron’s meter data management system to acquire detailed data from the smart meters.
Besides increasing customer awareness of energy use and costs, the Smart Metering Program is claimed to have enhanced employee safety and provided immediate operational savings to help reduce electricity rates and energy theft.
BC Hydro Smart Metering Program director Fiona Taylor said, ”We are pleased with all the accomplishments to date and the benefits we are already seeing, including streamlined operations, improved system visibility, and revenue recovery.”
The migration of the remaining network connected meters through over-the-air firmware download, is scheduled to take place, after completion of the evaluation, in 2014.
