Smart meters are a victim of their own success when it comes to burdening distribution system operators with data volumes.

Countries such as the Netherlands originally mandated smart meter readings six times a year but in reality, energy companies see the value in offering customers daily consumption readings.

In the case of the 15m Dutch smart meters rollout, this means a surge in scale from 90m meter reads per year to 5.5bn.

DSOs quite naturally will find it difficult to “chew” that volume of data, says Ferry Cserép, CEO of Dutch smart energy platform Netinium, “particularly if they are using a traditional smart meter stack with multiple head end systems (HES).”

Seamless three-tier optimization

Cserép highlights the hidden costs of multiple HES in terms of driving up the total cost of ownership and the manpower within a utility required to manage updates on multiple systems along the smart meter chain.

“If you want to change the configuration of a meter or the security keys, there is no uniform way to manage these updates if you have different proprietary head ends that are all operating differently.”

Netinium’s solution is originally a technology agnostic platform that sits within the smart metering technology stack between the meters and the meter data management (MDM) system.

Bypass your MDM: two – tier smart meter stack

However, this original solution remains a traditional three-tier infrastructure. Netinium is now further turning the dial on simplifying the stack towards a two-tier infrastructure by carving out the MDM. This new approach to smart energy platforms means that the MDM functionality is no longer required for two key functions - to integrate the platform with SAP and to fan out data to different recipients.

“Just to be clear, the meter data management system can still play a role with billing and data validation, and Netinium will keep supporting customers with 3-tier stacks. But there are clear benefits of carving out the MDM, and we will be able to serve our partners as soon as they are willing to take this next step.”

Traditional multiple head-end architectures require an MDM to fan out the data to multiple applications. Netinium can provide multiple data streams directly to both energy retailers as well as multiple applications within a DSO - such as GIS, OMS and data analytics.

Cserép says the first business case benefit of bypassing the MDM is the reduction of complexity in the IT architecture as you are removing the extra layer needed to send information to different applications boosting your return on investment.

Thinking again about the sharp increase in demand for smart meter readings fueled by energy retailers offering of customer services, such as in the Netherlands, “the extra layer to process that data will get in the way and make it harder to chew the volume,” says Cserép.

As a result, distribution system operators can expect to see operating expenditure decline - in terms of updating both hardware and the team required to manage it - “making you a more agile player in the market”, says Cserép.

On the subject of security - clearly front of mind for distribution system operators, Cserép says the security benefits of an agile two-tier smart energy platform are clear: already the cost-decreasing benefits of being able to manage and monitor just one implementation and enforcement at one bundled tier speaks for itself.

Tested and succesfully launched technology

To prove the business case and reliability of the two-tier approach, Netinium has used a testbed that allows the company to dial up a simulated network of millions of different types of meters and exchanging large data streams – all while using a variety of communication standards.

Netinium has already successfully launched the technology, which is now fully operational within a renowned large European distribution system operator.

Cserép expects the benefits to the DSO to be smaller teams, managing less systems integration and applications, and an overall reduction in the change management needed to adopt new technology.

The desire to reduce complexity was the motivating force in developing the Netinum platform that “would futureproof smart metering and smart grid architecture for the next 20 years”.

“It wasn’t our initial intention to carve out the MDM but as part of our product development, it fitted with our vision of how to offer a solution that lowers costs through highly automated and uniform management processes, while creating space for innovation to happen – side by side, in a secure way.”