Sterling Municipal Light Department (SMLD) operates from Sterling, MA, serving more than 4,000 electric customers in and around the town of Sterling, Massachusetts [1, 2]. It is member of New England ISO. SMLD targets the modular AMI solution initially for power and later for water which enables customers to manage their consumptions.
The company has selected Mueller Systems for its smart metering/AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) which started in 2007 and utilizes Mi.Net as a backbone for its smart grid monitoring [1]. The Mi.Net system architecture captures the data and provides: real-time alerts, quick analysis and response, report abnormal events, present useful information for energy management scenarios and power outage detection. The AMI solution for SMLD uses a 900 MHz radio frequency network for its wireless 2-way communication between smart meters installed at customer location and the host server at SMLD location [3].
Desired AMI project benefits for SMLD are:
- Territory-wide, fully interconnected AMI system
- Complete automation of the meter reading to billing cycle
- Lower operation and maintenance costs
- Lower electricity costs and lower peak demand
- Smart monitor and control of system operation
- Reduced charges from reduction in carbon footprint
