FortisBC Inc. (FortisBC) Application for a Certificate of Public ...

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FortisBC Inc. (FortisBC or the Company)
Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity
for the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project
Response to British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC or the Commission)
Information Request (IR) No. 1
Submission Date:
October 5, 2012
Page 55
The areas in the FortisBC service territory where satellite backhaul is being considered are the
most rural and sparsely populated areas. Consequently, they are the furthest driving distance
from populated centres and FortisBC offices and the most costly to manually read.
The following table outlines the estimated costs to read all the meters where satellite is
proposed as the backhaul technology; both using AMI meters with satellite backhaul, and
continuing with the current meters using the status quo manual meter reading process. For
clarification, the cost is the present day value of the total cost over the 20 year project lifetime.
The following 4 scenarios are defined:
1. AMI Preliminary Design – Cost to read each meter using an AMI system based on the
number of satellite backhaul sites and resulting customer meters estimated during the
preliminary design in 2011. This includes the purchase, installation, operations and
maintenance of all customer meters and satellite infrastructure.
2. Status Quo Compared to Preliminary Design – Cost to read the same meters referenced
in the AMI Preliminary Design, but instead of using an AMI system, the current meters
are not replaced and continue to be read manually.
3. AMI Probable Design – Cost to read each meter using an AMI system based on the
number of satellite backhaul sites and resulting customer meters expected when an AMI
system is deployed. As discussed in IR 32.2, several sites originally designated as
needing satellite backhaul will likely be in cellular coverage areas based on third party
cellular provider plans in 2012 and 2013. The cost includes the purchase, installation,
operations and maintenance of all customer meters and satellite infrastructure.
4. Status Quo Compared to Probable Design – Cost to read the same meters referenced in
the AMI Probable Design, but instead of using an AMI system, the current meters are
not replaced and continue to be read manually.
Scenario
Customer
Meters
Satellite
Stations
Lifecycle
Cost*
($ per meter)
AMI Preliminary Design 6350 35 $440.64
Status Quo Compared to Preliminary Design 6350 0 $1,530.64
AMI Probable Design 2830 20 $495.57
Status Quo Compared to Probable Design 2830 0 $1,768.40
* the lifecycle cost is the net present value of the estimated cost to read a meter over the 20 year
project timeline.
In both the case of the preliminary design having 35 satellite backhaul sites, and the expected
system having 20 satellite backhaul sites, an AMI system is significantly more economical than
a status quo manual meter reading process.