How does your utility model AMI infrastructure in your Electric UN?

[Anonymous User]

We are deploying AMI communication infrastructure to support the service-point AMI meters. We have installed the Access Points and Relays on our own poles. We will build out the communication infrastructure with "NIC" on top of streetlights and will eventually have the Socket Access Points installed behind the meter itself.

I am curious to know how other utilities are modeling the AMI communication assets in the UN and the service point itself at the service location?

Do you also model the connected secondary (low voltage conductor) in the UN to show the connectivity of the communication assets?

Does your OMS receive the AMI communication assets with a connected secondary model from your electric UN?

[RichardKoch]

Darris,

We have separate router and range entender units. Tracked by serial number. And tapped off of the transformer that is currently serving them. As we migrate to the UN I will look for other ways to extend the model. 

Take care 

Richard Koch

[Anonymous User]

Thank you @RichardKoch we have the same setup in the field. Trying to model that in the Electric UN is the challenge. I just need a little bit of the Telecom UN, not the whole thing, so that we can track the assets in GIS for OMS and Work & Asset Management. Both systems are integrated with GIS.

[RobertKrisher]

@Anonymous User If you want to include these features in your network as energized features you could add a new set of asset groups / types to your device layer. This can be a bit of a heavy lift, so if you're just doing this for asset management / work management purposes and don't need to trace / export these features you could consider adding several standalone feature classes / tables to track these assets, registering them as branch versioned, and including them in your utility network service.

[LoganSuhr_PSE]

@Anonymous User , have you considered the Telecommunications UN data model for your needs?  Maybe there is a specific reason you need to have it in your electric UN? 

I haven't seen that OMS is looking at the GIS for AMI related information beyond a simple meter ID.  Consequently, we aren't modeling AMI assets in a UN for our clients at the moment.  We do promote the modeling of meter assets / service locations in the electric UNs we build.

Hope that helps.

[Anonymous User]

Hello @LoganSuhr_PSE thank you for the suggestion. Our Electric crews will install and maintain the AMI antennas. There is a small number of equipment to cover our service territory so I don't want to stand up a Telecom UN. 

[RobertKrisher]

Whether and how to model low voltage equipment in the GIS is a question that has been around for a long time. Utilities that have access to resources to accurately model and maintain connectivity beyond the transformer and to the meter often choose to because of the benefits it provides to integrations with a CIS, OMS, ADMS, AMI, etc. The answers to these questions are different for every utility.

If you do choose to model this information, the next question is how you integrate it with other systems. Due to the volatile nature of meter / customer information you will need to be careful about what unique identifiers you use to integrate your systems because things like meter numbers, serial numbers, or customer numbers can change. If you have a strong CIS and AMI integration that you may already have a solution to this problem in the form of some kind of Service Point Identifier that remains consistent (or at least well maintained) as equipment is replaced in the field.

I discuss some of these models and strategies for the Utility Network in some of my blog posts, I recommend you read them in the given order:

1. Journey to the Utility Network: Integration Overview
2. Journey to the Utility Network: Non-Network Integrations
3. Journey to the Utility Network: Network Integrations 

[Anonymous User]

Thank you @RobertKrisher I saw some of your on LinkedIn and started following you. As for our CIS GIS integration we use SAP and leverage "Installation Number" which is unique to the service location. Meters can change and customers can move in/out but the Installation Number will not change. That keeps GIS and CIS in sync so we can perform a variety of analysis such as consumption history, or customers in an outage (prior to our AMI is standing up),