Jim ‘Slim’ Mimlitz, SCADAmetrics
SCADAmetrics’ introduction of its new line of water meter signal duplexers— the Universal Duplexer for AMI and the AMI Duplexer for SCADA — has introduced a new term into the water metering industry lexicon:
“Co-Metering”.
Co-Metering describes two (or more) interested parties accessing a single water meter, each using their respective meter-reading equipment in parallel — made possible by a SCADAmetrics Duplexer.
For example, we’ve received inquiries from customers seeking the ability to connect three (3) meter-reading devices to a single water meter. This can actually be accomplished rather easily through the use of Cascaded Duplexers:
Two (2) Cascaded Duplexers Allow Three (3) Meter-Reading Devices to Share Access to a Single Water Meter.
One recent example was at a custody-transfer pumping station, where both the wholesale seller and wholesale buyer desired to connect their respective AMI endpoints to the turbo meter. Additionally, the SCADA integrator desired to tie the flow meter into the pump station’s PLC, so as to report totalization and rate-of-flow in realtime back to the central office.
The following diagram illustrates how the station was co-metered, with the data shared among the three (3) interested parties:
An SDA “SCADA Duplexer” was Utilized to Split the Meter Signal Between the SCADA System and the AMI Systems. An Additional UDA “Universal Duplexer” was Installed to Split the AMI Signals to Both the Buyer and Seller’s AMI Systems.
Another recent example was nearly identical — except it was located at a custody-transfer valve station that featured a compound flow meter. The compound meter contained both a high-flow meter and low-flow meter in one integrated package.
The following diagram illustrates how the station was co-metered, with the data shared among the three (3) interested parties:
Two (2) SDA “SCADA Duplexers” were Utilized to Split the Meters’ Signals Between the SCADA System and the AMI Systems. Two (2) Additional UDA’s “Universal Duplexers” were Installed to Split the AMI Signals to Both the Buyer and Seller’s AMI Systems.
In each scenario above, a single EtherMeter functioned as the flow meter gateway into the PLC, ensuring that the SCADA System was able to collect revenue-grade metering data and rate-of-flow.
Are you interested in how SCADAmetrics technology can help you to connect 2 or 3 (or even more!) meter-reading devices to your most important water meters?
Give us a call! We’ll be glad to discuss the details!