IoT and new Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) technology offers Ontario based utility provider, Alectra Energy Services Inc., a superior business opportunity for commercial and residential water metering using wireless technology.
The result of automated meter reading, better data and meter data transparency results in improved customer service and reduced operating expenses.
Alectra Energy Services Inc. wanted to provide more timely and detailed water consumption information to their customers than their conventional drive-by/manual read data collection system could deliver. Utilizing LoRaWAN technology, QMC delivered a fixed-network solution with seamless integration from the existing water meters to LoRaWAN gateway provided by network operator, eleven-x. All hourly meter data is provided through QMC’s cloud-based MeterConnex™ Service.
This commercialized Internet of Things (IoT) wireless water meter project using LoRa technology is the first of its kind in Canada.
QMC has partnered with Alectra Energy Services Inc. (formerly PowerStream Energy Services Inc.) to upgrade their existing stock of commercial and residential water meters to a wireless fixed network. The solution provides savings on operating expenses, improves asset management and customer-related business process such as billing. The project is geographically located in various cities from Vancouver to Toronto.
QMC partnered with eleven-X to provide the design expertise and LoRaWAN Network. QMC and eleven-X jointly developed an encoded Meter Interface Unit (MIU) which is able to read Alectra Energy Service’s existing stock of Sensus water meters.
According to James Easton, President & CEO of QMC:
“Being able to utilize the existing meter hardware saved considerable cost and time on the project and avoided inconvenient shut-offs and disruptions to the tenants. We now provide Alectra Energy Services with hourly interval data for all the water meters at the site.”
“We’re very excited to have partnered with QMC on this metering project that has been qualified for a much broader deployment across Canada. It’s the first such LoRa-metering implementation in Canada and we’re pleased eleven-X has led the way with a terrific partner in QMC,” said Dan Mathers, President and CEO of eleven-X. “We look forward to the future metering buildout by QMC, while providing our expert networking and technical support.”
For Alectra Energy Services, fixed network wireless meter reading will eliminate expensive drive by/walk by meter reading and will enhance the billing and reporting experience for their customers. “QMC provided us with the ideal solution for us to collect our water meter billing data wirelessly,” explained Daniel Miller, Director Metering Services for Alectra Energy Services. “It has enabled us to operate our business more efficiently in several areas.”
