Abstract:
A method for processing daily consumption, demand and time of use meter reads for electric, gas, water and other metered entities. The meter reads are collected by any of the well known Automated Meter Reading (AMR) technologies and loaded into a meter data warehouse. At a minimum daily meter reading, reads that are tagged as Good, Stale, Partial, Incomplete and Missing are required for properly identifying usage patterns, applying rules for error patterns and estimating the reads which will provide quality meter reads to the utilities thereby identifying meter problems before they become billing problems. The overall process involves loading the daily meter reads into a database, comparing each meter read against its previous day&#39;s read and applying a set of rules that help in validating, editing and estimating (VEE) of this data. The VEE rules that are applied can be broadly classified into five (5) categories. They are 1) Cumulative (CUM) Read Error Detection 2) Demand (DEM) read Error Detection 3) Rounding, Truncation and Offset rules 4) Allocation and Estimation 5) Others. Once these rules have been applied and the required reading estimated and edited, the data is now ready for billing. Prior to the reads being used for billing, another process is executed that helps to determine the meters that need to be replaced and hence whose reads cannot be used for billing as it would result in the customer being billed for incorrect usage. The output of this process can be customized to suit any of the popular Utility Billing Systems (UBS)&#39;s input format and mimics a meter exchange transaction.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/059,089, filed Feb. 7, 2005, which claims priority to Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/542,488, filed Feb. 5, 2004, which applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to methods for processing daily consumption of demand and time of use meter readings for electronic, gas, water and other metered entities, and, more particularly relates to validating, editing and estimating of such data for billing purposes and customer presentation by utility companies. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Revenue metering and meter operations have a rich tradition of being very accurate and stable processes within utilities. The goals of +99% accuracy and timely delivery of billing reads has been the undisputed standard for decades. With the advent of AMR, a new metering paradigm has been created. Data delivery requirements have been increased by several magnitudes; monthly delivery has been replaced by daily and even hourly delivery. Accuracy has also improved, errors associated with misreads, can&#39;t reads and data entry errors are virtually non-existent. 
     The notion that AMR delivers more data with higher accuracy is universally held within the industry. This notion is true for most meters but not all. The reality of AMR metering is that along with increases in accuracy and data delivery comes a new level of complexity and a variety of new failure mechanisms. The flow of data from the meter to the billing system while untouched by human hands goes through numerous software processes and hardware devices that must be monitored and controlled closely. 
     To further complicate the AMR paradigm, utilities have added the element of timing to the metering equation for a large population of meters. Not only does the quantity of energy used need to be accurately recorded but also so does the time of usage. It is no longer acceptable to report energy usage over a 30 or 60-day cycle as a single event, it now must be reported daily at the beginning and end of four or more distinct time periods. 
     Along with this new complexity, AMR ushers in new opportunities and a requirement to reassess the traditional metering paradigm. No longer does the identification of meter problems take months, problems can be identified and corrected in days. The need to estimate energy usage is reduced in both scope and volume. With daily reporting of energy usage; billing reads are generally no older than 24 hours and if a read is unavailable, only a short time period of consumption must be estimated. In most cases, with AMR, only known usage now must be allocated to the appropriate day or bin. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for analyzing any data at a particular frequency such as daily meter reading data, comparing it to a reference point such as the previous day&#39;s data for the same meter and categorizing the read as a good accurate read which can be used for billing purposes. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for identifying meter resets, error conditions, rounding errors and provide a means for validating, estimating and editing of the data. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to reclaim lost revenue by identifying and processing reset meters. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to smoothen data so as to provide good quality data for presentation to end customers. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to help the end customer correlate what they are seeing via the utility presentation application with what they are being billed. 
     It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide a method for analyzing any data at a particular frequency such as daily meter reading data, comparing it to a reference point such as the previous day&#39;s data for the same meter and categorizing the read as a good accurate read which can be used for billing purposes. 
     It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a method for identifying meter resets, error conditions, rounding errors and provide a means for validating, estimating and editing of the data. 
     It is yet another advantage of the present invention to reclaim lost revenue by identifying and processing reset meters. 
     It is yet another advantage of the present invention to smoothen data so as to provide good quality data for presentation to end customers. 
     It is yet another advantage of the present invention to help the end customer correlate what they are seeing via the utility presentation application with what they are being billed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates in flow chart form a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The flow chart depicts the overall process flow from receiving the raw meter reads file to processing the data through the current invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. The figure depicts the steps involved in applying one of the rules of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     For purposes of this invention the following terms when used stand for the following definitions. 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Term 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 CUM 
                 Cumulative meter read. This is the most basic measurement  
               
               
                   
                 done by an electric meter and traditionally the meter reader  
               
               
                   
                 would get reads once per month that would be a cumulative  
               
               
                   
                 value. The billing system calculates the USAGE and bills the  
               
               
                   
                 customer appropriately 
               
               
                 KWH 
                 Kilo Watt Hours 
               
               
                 TOU 
                 Time of Use. Any cumulative demand can be measured on a 
               
               
                   
                 time of use basis. These kinds of meters traditionally have a  
               
               
                   
                 clock in them and these reads involves tracking when the  
               
               
                   
                 electricity was actually consumed. Since the price of  
               
               
                   
                 electricity fluctuates during the day, billing a customer based  
               
               
                   
                 on the time of his consumption is a fair billing process and  
               
               
                   
                 usually saves both the customer and the utility money. 
               
               
                 DEM 
                 Demand. These types of reading tracks the maximum value  
               
               
                   
                 of the electricity in a given period of time. 
               
               
                 KW 
                 Kilo Watts 
               
               
                 USAGE 
                 Difference between current month&#39;s/day&#39;s meter read and last  
               
               
                   
                 month&#39;s/day&#39;s meter read. The actual energy that was  
               
               
                   
                 consumed by the customer during the billing month/day.  
               
               
                   
                 Usage is the delta-between two values at varying points  
               
               
                   
                 of time. 
               
               
                 Good Read 
                 A meter read that falls in the acceptable read window from  
               
               
                   
                 the bill date. In the traditional scenario, if a customer was  
               
               
                   
                 supposed to be read on 25-MAR for instance, there would  
               
               
                   
                 generally be an acceptable read window of +2 and −2 days  
               
               
                   
                 to allow for the meter reader sufficient time to read. With the  
               
               
                   
                 advent of AMR, this window had shrunk drastically to enable  
               
               
                   
                 more revenue to be collected. 
               
               
                 Stale Read 
                 A meter read that falls outside the acceptable read window,  
               
               
                   
                 usually an older read. 
               
               
                 Partial Read 
                 This applies only to TOU meters. In order to measure the  
               
               
                   
                 consumption of a customer based on time of the day,  
               
               
                   
                 utilities divide the 24 hour day in multiple buckets, wherein  
               
               
                   
                 each bucket has a different price for electricity. These are  
               
               
                   
                 referred to as BINS or Time of Use buckets. In order to have  
               
               
                   
                 a complete read from a TOU meter, the consumption for the  
               
               
                   
                 entire 24 month period must be known. If the partial  
               
               
                   
                 readings and the concept of tagging readings as such can be  
               
               
                   
                 applied to all readings and not just to TOU readings. Partial  
               
               
                   
                 reads are defined as those reads that are not stale and do not  
               
               
                   
                 completely represent date for the respective time period. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The present invention and embodiments thereof are not limited to a specific AMR technology, computer platform, data storage software (RDBMS) and maybe be implemented in a variety of situations where daily meter reading data from electric, water, gas, steam and other utility metered data is stored. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an illustration in block diagram form of a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. The approach is logical and straight forward and employs these key steps:
         Loading the raw meter read data set from any AMR technology. It should be available and the loading process should be able to identify the reads as Good, Stale, Partial, Incomplete or Missing.   Performing Error Checking, Estimation and Allocation processes   Processing the meters that are to be billed today by the utility, typically 1/20 of their entire population.   Checking for a meter or AMR device replacement based on the last rule and any new reset rules since this meter was billed.   Creating the Meter Reset file to be processed by the UBS.   Creating Summary Report       

       FIG. 1  illustrates in flow chart form a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The flow chart depicts the overall process flow from receiving the raw meter reads data to processing the data through the current invention. While the meter read loading process and its logic are not part of this invention, the present invention depends on the loading process and its ability to identify and tag the meter reads as Good, Stale, Partial, Incomplete and Missing. 
     Once the meter reads are loaded (step  5 ) the current invention and its processes are initiated (step  10 .) In step  15 , the current reads for all the meters are obtained along with the previous day&#39;s reads for every meter and compared (step  25 ) to check for errors or data patterns. If any of the rules (described with reference to  FIGS. 2-13 ) are satisfied (step  30 ) and if estimation is required (step  40 ) then the appropriate estimate is applied in the priority set by the utility (step  45 .) It is assumed that all billing systems have a method to process a meter exchange in between the two billing dates for the meter. The virtual meter exchange process emulates this process on the day of the reset and hence recovers revenue that would have been potentially lost. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates in flow chart form a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention. In step  110 , current reads for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s for the same meter are obtained. The meters are then processed for reset one by one (step  112 .) In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the meters has five values: the cumulative read, bin  1  cumulative read, bin  2  cumulative read, bin  3  cumulative read, bin  4  cumulative read, and bin  5  cumulative read. In step  115 , the current read is measured as against the previous day&#39;s read and if the current read is lower than the previous day&#39;s read, in the next step  120  a determination is made on whether it is a valid rollover for the cumulative read. If it is not a valid rollover the cumulative read is reset in step  125 . If however, the current read is greater than or equal to the previous day&#39;s read and if the bin  1  cumulative read is lower than the previous day&#39;s read (step  130 ) then the next step  135  involves a determination of whether it is a valid rollover for the bin  1  cumulative read. If it is not a valid rollover the bin  1  cumulative read is reset in step  140 . If however, the bin  1  cumulative read is greater than the previous day&#39;s reads then bin  2  cumulative read is measured against the previous day&#39;s reads (step  145 .) If the bin  2  cumulative read is lower than the previous day&#39;s read (step  145 ) then the next step  150  involves a determination of whether it is a valid rollover for the bin  2  cumulative read. If it is not a valid rollover the bin  2  cumulative read is reset (step  155 ). If however, the bin  2  cumulative read is greater than or equal to the previous day&#39;s reads then the next step  160  ensues whereby the bin  3  cumulative read is measured against the previous day&#39;s reads and if the bin  3  cumulative read is lower than the previous day&#39;s read then the next step  165  involves a determination of whether it is a valid rollover for the bin  3  cumulative read. If it is not a valid rollover the bin  3  cumulative read is reset (step  170 ). If however, the bin  3  cumulative read is greater than or equal to the previous day&#39;s reads then the next step  175  ensues whereby the bin  4  cumulative read is measured against the previous day&#39;s reads and if the bin  4  cumulative read is lower than the previous day&#39;s read then the next step  180  involves a determination of whether it is a valid rollover for the bin  4  cumulative read. If it is not a valid rollover the bin  4  cumulative read is reset in step  185 . If the cumulative read and one of the bins is reset (step  190 ) the meter is tagged as Reset and the applicable estimation rule is MBR i.e. Meter and Bins Reset (MBR.) (step  195 .) Thus Meter and Bins reset (MBR) refers to a situation wherein the cumulative energy value as well as the TOU values reported by the AMR system indicates negative energy consumption. For this to take place the AMR module has been either partially or fully reset due to a hardware failure or a software failure has taken place causing the bins to decrement. Normally, in such instances replacement of the meter is necessary. See tables 1 and 2. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 TOU and CUM Reads as Delivered by an AMR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Read time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 5, 2002  
                 10059 
                 3507 
                 646 
                 1392 
                 1532 
               
               
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 6, 2002  
                 10021 
                 3505 
                 642 
                 1384 
                 1523 
               
               
                 11:59:59 PM 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Ad- 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Read 
                 justed 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                   
                 Off- 
                   
               
               
                 time 
                 CUM 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 TAG 
                 set 
                 Notes 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 1/5/2002 
                 10058 
                 3507 
                 646 
                 1392  
                 1532 
                 RWT 
                 2981 
                 Normal 
               
               
                 11:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Read, 
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 CUM 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 adjusted 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 because 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 of 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 truncation 
               
               
                 1/6/2002 
                 10021 
                 3505 
                 642 
                 1384  
                 1523 
                 MBR 
                 2967 
                 CUM and 
               
               
                 11:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Bins 
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 decre- 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 mented 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 resulting 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 in an  
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 MBR tag 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by current invention 
               
             
          
         
       
     
     If only the cumulative read has reset (step  200 ) the meter is tagged as reset with the applicable estimation rule being MRS i.e. Meter Reset (step  205 ). Meter Reset (MRS) refers to a situation wherein the cumulative energy value reported by the AMR system indicates negative energy consumption. For this to take place the AMR module has been reset due to a hardware failure and replacement of the meter is probably necessary. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 CMU Reads for a Gas Meter as  
               
               
                 Delivered by a AMR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Read time 
                 CUM 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 1, 2002 11:54:13 PM 
                 0 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 2, 2002 11:51:08 PM 
                 2 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 3, 2002 11:58:59 PM 
                 3 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 4, 2002 11:46:21 PM 
                 0 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 5, 2002 11:44:26 PM 
                 1 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 6, 2002 11:58:51 PM 
                 2 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 7, 2002 11:56:43 PM 
                 3 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 8, 2002 11:59:49 PM 
                 5 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 9, 2002 11:57:45 PM 
                 6 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 10, 2002 11:55:37 PM 
                 9 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                 TABLE 4 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Read time 
                 CUM 
                 TAG 
                 Notes 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 Jan. 1, 2002 11:54:13 PM 
                 0 
                   
                 Start 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 2, 2002 11:51:08 PM 
                 2 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 3, 2002 11:58:59 PM 
                 3 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 4, 2002 11:46:21 PM 
                 0 
                 MRS 
                 CUM Register 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Reset 
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 5, 2002 11:44:26 PM  
                 1 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 6, 2002 11:58:51 PM  
                 2 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 7, 2002 11:56:43 PM  
                 3 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 8, 2002 11:59:49 PM  
                 5 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 9, 2002 11:57:45 PM 
                 6 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 10, 2002 11:55:37 PM 
                 9 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     If only one of the Bins has reset and the sum of previous offset and sum of bins equals the cumulative read (step  210 ) then the meter is tagged as Reset with the applicable estimation rule being PBR i.e. Partial Bins Reset (step  215 .) Partial Bin Reset (PBR) refers to a situation wherein the AMR reads have been reported but the TOU values indicate negative energy consumption for one or more bins but is compensated by one of the other bins, no offset change. Replacement of the meter is not necessary, but a Virtual Meter Exchange (V ME) of on CLX is necessary in order to correctly bill the customer at the next read cycle. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 5 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Read 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
                 FLAG 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 10/21/2002 
                 12990 
                 3373 
                 1757 
                 1935 
                 1891 
                   
               
               
                 23:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 10/22/2002 
                 13002 
                 3370 
                 1760 
                 1938 
                 1900 
                 PBR 
               
               
                 23:59 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     If none of the aforementioned rules is applicable the meter is tagged as reset with the applicable estimation rule being VME i.e. Virtual Meter Exchange (step  220 .) If that happens the steps of  FIG. 1  are repeated on the next meter. Virtual Meter Exchange (VME) refers to a situation wherein the AMR reads have been reported but the TOU values indicate negative energy consumption and the offset calculation results in an offset change. For this to take place, a software failure on the AMR vendor&#39;s software has taken place causing the bins to decrement or reset to zero. Replacement of the meter is not necessary, but a Virtual Meter Exchange (VME) on the UBS is necessary in order to correctly bill the customer at the next read cycle. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 6 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 CUM and TOU Reads provided by an AMR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Read Time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Dec. 26, 2001 
                 24691 
                 11769 
                 13640 
                 11568 
                 7698 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Dec. 28, 2001 
                 24985 
                 11809 
                 13751 
                 11647 
                 7761 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Dec. 29, 2001 
                 25137 
                 11812 
                 13808 
                 11708 
                 7793 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Dec. 29, 2001 
                 25137 
                 11812 
                 13808 
                 11708 
                 7793 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Dec. 31, 2001 
                 25471 
                 12184 
                 13750 
                 11740 
                 7780 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Jan. 1, 2002 
                 25640 
                 12354 
                 13750 
                 11740 
                 7780 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 7 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Ad- 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Read 
                 justed 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN  
                   
                   
               
               
                 Time 
                 CUM 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 TAG 
                 Notes 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 12/27/2001 
                 24691 
                 11769 
                 13640 
                 11568 
                 7698 
                 NHD 
                   
               
               
                 11:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 12/28/2001 
                 24984 
                 11809 
                 13751 
                 11647 
                 7761 
                 RWT 
                   
               
               
                 11:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 12/29/2001 
                 25137 
                 11812 
                 13808 
                 11708 
                 7793 
                   
                   
               
               
                 11:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 12/30/2001 
                 25137 
                 11812 
                 13808 
                 11708 
                 7793 
                 NHD 
                 Stale  
               
               
                 11:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Read 
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 12/31/2001 
                 25470 
                 12184 
                 13750 
                 11740 
                 7780 
                 VME 
                 Bins 2  
               
               
                 11:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 and 4 
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 decre- 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 mented 
               
               
                 1/1/2002 
                 25640 
                 12354 
                 13750 
                 11740 
                 7780 
                   
                   
               
               
                 11:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 PM 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by the current invention 
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The VME supplies UBS with a set of stop and start reads. The stop reads should be adjusted in order to account for all energy usage. In the above example, the energy consumed on Dec. 31, 2001 seems incorrectly stated if one looks only at the bin readings. Between 12/30 and 12/31, the CUM reading increased by 333 KWH and the bin values incremented by only 153 KWH. 180 KWH must be added to the stop reading in order to account for all usage. All 333 KWH can be added to the lowest price bin thus guaranteeing that the customer is not over charged or it can be reasonably spread across all bins using resent historical usage trends Once the applicable error detection rule is applied and if there are more meters to be processed (step  225 ), the aforementioned steps are repeated with the next meter (step  230 .) Referring to  FIG. 3 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. The flow chart depicts the step of getting the current reads and previous day&#39;s reads for each meter and processing the meters one by one in step  260 . If the current read is good (step  265 ), the process involves the steps of calculating the current cumulative read offset which is the difference of cumulative reads and the sum of all 4 bins in step  270 . If the current read is greater than the previous day&#39;s read (step  275 ) and if bin  1  cumulative read is equal to the previous day&#39;s bin  1  cumulative read (step  280 ) and if bin  2  cumulative read is equal to the previous day&#39;s bin  2  cumulative read (step  285 ) and if bin  3  cumulative read is equal to the previous day&#39;s bin  3  cumulative read (step  290 ) and if bin  4  cumulative read is equal to the previous day&#39;s bin  4  cumulative read (step  295 ) the next step  300  involves estimating all four bins. Such being the case, all four bins are then estimated using one of the rules explained in the section on estimating and the meter is tagged as one where the Bins Did Not Advance (step  305 .) An example of such a read is shown below. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                 TABLE 8 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Read 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 19 Oct. 2002 
                 56152 
                 11865 
                 2968 
                 6938 
                 5429 
               
               
                   
                 20 Oct. 2002 
                 56152 
                 11865 
                 2968 
                 6938 
                 5429 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     If there are other meters to be checked (step  310 ), the aforementioned steps are repeated with the next meter ( 315 .) 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. The flowchart depicts the steps of getting the current reads for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  320 ). As each meter is processed on-by-one, a determination is made as to whether the current read is good (step  325 ). A good read being one where the read falls within the acceptable window of the bill read date. If the current read is good then a determination is made as to whether this is the first day&#39;s read meaning thereby that the previous day&#39;s read does not exist (step  330 ). If it is the first day&#39;s read then the meter is tagged as Cannot Calculate Usage meaning thereby that usage cannot be calculated because the previous day&#39;s read did not exist for comparison purposes (step  335 ). If it is not the first day&#39;s read and if the previous day&#39;s read is a Reset (step  345 .) See table 9 below where the previous day&#39;s read was a reset and hence the usage cannot be calculated correctly for today either. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 9 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Read Time 
                 CUM 
                 Flag 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Oct. 14, 2002 23:59 
                 2047 
                   
               
               
                 Oct. 15, 2002 23:22 
                 2050 
                   
               
               
                 Oct. 16, 2002 23:59 
                 2052 
                   
               
               
                 Oct. 18, 2002 23:40 
                 2058 
                   
               
               
                 Oct. 19, 2002 23:59 
                 2037 
                 MRS 
               
               
                 Oct. 20, 2002 23:56 
                 2039 
                 CCU 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     If there are more meters to be checked (step  350 ) then the aforementioned steps are repeated with the next meter (step  355 .) 
       FIG. 5  illustrates the steps of getting the current reads for each meter along with the previous days reads for each meter (step  355 .) If the current read is not a good read (step  360 ) and if the TOU is a configured meter then the CUM and TOU reads are estimated (step  370 .) If the old CUM read is Good or the Estimated Read exists (step  375 ) the meter is tagged as No Bin Values (NBV) (step  385 .) If not other meters are checked (steps  390 ,  395 .) 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the steps of getting the current reads for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  390 .) If the current read is a partial read (step  395 ) then the CUM read is estimated based on different options (step  400 .) If the current read is estimated (step  405 ) and if the Bin  1  CUM read is partial (step  410 ) then the Bin  1  CUM read is estimated. If Bin  2  CUM read is partial (step  420 ) then Bin  2  CUM read is estimated (step  425 ). If Bin  3  CUM read is partial (step  440 ) then Bin  4  CUM read is estimated. If Bin  4  CUM read is not partial then Offset is calculated (step  450 ). Offset is equal to difference of CUM read and sum of CUM reads of all 4 bins. In this case the meter is tagged as Estimated Partial Bins (EPB.) 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. The flowchart depicts the steps of getting the current demand reads (daily peak demand, billing cycle peak demand and the demand peaks for each of the bins) for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  550 ). As each meter is processed on-by-one, a determination is made as to whether the current read is incomplete or partial or stale or missing. If the CUM read is complete, partial or stale or missing, the current demand reads are tagged as a Demand Read Missing (DRM) (step  580 ). A determination is made to check if any more meters are to be processed (step  585 ) and if Yes then the next meter in the list is processed using the same process as above (step  625 ). 
     In the example below, cumulative reads were provided by the AMR vendor but their process failed to read and provide the Demand registers. The current invention flags the demand reads as missing if any AMR vendor fails to deliver all demand reads. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
               
               
                   
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
               
               
                 Date 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 1/19/2002 
                 0.511 
                 0.504 
                 0.468 
                 0.525 
                 0.561 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                 1/20/2002 
                 0.511 
                 0.475 
                 0.475 
                 0.496 
                 0.633 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                 1/21/2002 
                 0.633 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0.633 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                 1/22/2002 
                 0.504 
                 0.489 
                 0.367 
                 0.511 
                 0.633 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                 1/23/2002 
                 0.475 
                 0.518 
                 0.424 
                 0.511 
                 0.633 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Demand Reads as Delivered by AMR vendor 
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                   
               
               
                 Date 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 Tag 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 1/19/ 
                 .511 
                 .504 
                 .468 
                 .525 
                 .561 
                 .547 
                  .504 
                 .54 
                   
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 1/20/ 
                 .511 
                 .475 
                 .475 
                 .496 
                 .561 
                 .547 
                 .54 
                 .54 
                 IPD 
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 1/21/ 
                 .633 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 .633 
                 .547 
                 .54 
                 .54 
                 DRM 
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 1/22/ 
                 .504 
                 .489 
                 .367 
                 .511 
                 .633 
                 .547 
                 .54 
                 .54 
                   
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 1/23/ 
                 .475 
                 .518 
                 .424 
                 .511 
                 .633 
                 .547 
                 .54 
                 .54 
                   
               
               
                 2002 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Demand readings after being processed by the current invention 
               
             
          
         
       
     
     This rule verifies the reset of the bill-cycle demand. If the demand is not reset, the demand read is tagged as DNR. This process is checked for three successive days in order to accommodate reset retries by the AMR vendor&#39;s process. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. The flowchart depicts the steps of getting the current demand reads (daily peak demand, billing cycle peak demand and the demand peaks for each of the bins) for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  550 ). As each meter is processed on-by-one, a determination is made as to whether the current read is incomplete or partial or stale or missing (step  555 ). If the read is determined to be a good read then another determination is made to check if the meter was billed previous day (step  560 ). If previous day was the bill day for the meter (the demand should have been reset to a zero value), a determination is made to check if the billing peak demand as reported by the meter reads is equal to previous day&#39;s billing peak demand (step  565 ). In an ideal scenario the billing peak demand as reported by the meter reads should not be equal to previous day&#39;s billing peak demand. If Yes, then a determination is made to check if the billing peak demand reported today is NOT equal to the maximum value of the various daily peak demands in the various bins for the meter (since this is the next day after reset, the max daily peak demand should be equal to the billing peak demand) (step  570 ). If yes, the reads are tagged as Demand Not Reset (DNR) (step  575 ). A determination is made to check if any more meters are to be processed (step  585 ) and if Yes then the next meter in the list is processed using the same process as above (step  625 ). 
     An example of such a DNT read is shown below. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Bill- 
                 Bill- 
                 Bill- 
                 Bill- 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Cycle 
                 Cycle 
                 Cycle 
                 Cycle 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3  
                 Bin 4 
               
               
                 Date 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 Time 
                 Time 
                 Time 
                 Time 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Normal Demand Reset Date for Bill Cycle 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Dec. 30,  
                 4.224 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 4.302 
                 2.302 
                 4.406 
                 4.363 
                 Dec. 30,  
                 Jan. 1,  
                 Jan. 1,  
                 Jan. 1,  
               
               
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 2001 
                 1970 
                 1970 
                 1970 
               
               
                 4:29:59  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 4:29:59  
                 4:41:28  
                 4:41:28  
                 4:41:28  
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 PM 
                 PM 
                 PM 
                 PM 
               
               
                 Dec. 31,  
                 3.818 
                 1.658 
                 3.905 
                 3.896 
                 4.302 
                 2.039 
                 4.406 
                 4.363 
                 Dec. 31,  
                 Dec. 31,  
                 Dec. 31,  
                 Dec. 31,  
               
               
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 2001 
                 2001 
                 2001 
                 2001 
               
               
                 2:44:59  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 2:44:59  
                 6:14:59  
                 4:29: 59  
                 5:29:59  
               
               
                 AM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 AM 
                 AM 
                 AM 
                 AM 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Reset Took Place One day later 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Jan. 1,  
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 4.302 
                 2.039 
                 4.406 
                 4.363 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 12:44:59  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 AM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Demand Reads as Delivered By any AMR vendor 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Jan. 2,  
                 3.974 
                 1.762 
                 4.25 
                 4.224 
                 3.974 
                 1.762  
                 4.25 
                 4.224 
                 Jan. 2,  
                 Jan. 2,  
                 Jan. 2,  
                 Jan. 2,  
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 2002 
                 2002 
                 2002 
                 2002 
               
               
                 9:44:59  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 9:44:59  
                 6:14:59  
                 4:29:59  
                 5:14:59  
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 PM 
                 PM 
                 PM 
                 PM 
               
               
                 Jan. 3,  
                 3.827 
                 1.71 
                 4.311 
                 4.224 
                 3.974 
                 1.762 
                 4.311 
                 4.224 
                 Jan. 3,  
                 Jan. 3,  
                 Jan. 3,  
                 Jan. 3,  
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 2002 
                 2002 
                 2002 
                 2002 
               
               
                 2:29:59  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 2:29:59  
                 6:14:59  
                 4:29:59  
                 5:14:59  
               
               
                 AM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 AM 
                 AM 
                 PM 
                 PM 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Demand readings after being processed by the current invention 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Bill- 
                 Bill- 
                 Bill- 
                 Bill- 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Cycle 
                 Cycle 
                 Cycle 
                 Cycle 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Demand  
                 Demand  
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                   
               
               
                 Date 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 TAG 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Dec. 30, 2001 
                 4.224 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 4.302 
                 2.039 
                 4.406 
                 4.363 
                   
               
               
                 4:29:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 AM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Dec. 30, 2001 
                 3.818 
                 1.658 
                 3.905 
                 3.896 
                 4.302 
                 2.039 
                 4.406 
                 4.363 
                   
               
               
                 2:44:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 AM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 1, 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 4.302 
                 2.039 
                 4.406 
                 4.363 
                 DNR 
               
               
                 12:44:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 AM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 2, 2002 
                 3.974 
                 1.762  
                 4.25 
                 4.224  
                 3.974 
                 1.762 
                 4.25 
                 4.224 
                   
               
               
                 9:44:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 3, 2002 
                 3.827  
                 1.71 
                 4.311  
                 4.224 
                 3.974 
                 1.762 
                 4.311 
                 4.224 
                   
               
               
                 2:29:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 AM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Demand readings after being processed by the current invention The daily peak value is the demand value established for a 24-hour period of time which can be independently measured or in case of a TOU meter on demand, the maximum demand value from among the various bin values would be depicted as the daily peak value. A good daily peak value is one where the read is greater than the value from the previous day&#39;s read and is equal to one of the demand values from the various TOU bins. This would mean that a new demand was established today and this value would now be reflected in the bill-cycle peak value. In the case where a new demand was not established today and the maximum demand was lower than previous day, the bill-cycle peak value would be retained. 
     By definition, a new peak is established when the daily demand exceeds all previous demands for the current bill cycle. If a new bill-cycle peak demand was reported yet the daily peak was of a lower value, the bill-cycle peak demand is suspect, likewise, if the daily demand exceeds the bill-cycle demand, an understatement of the bill-cycle demand has occurred. If either one of these events takes place, the demand reading is tagged as Incorrect Peak Demand. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. The flowchart depicts the steps of getting the current demand reads (daily peak demand˜billing cycle peak demand and the demand peaks for each of the bins) for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  550 ). As each meter is processed on-by-one, a determination is made as to whether the current read is incomplete or partial or stale or missing (step  555 ). If the read is determined to be a good read then another determination is made to check if the meter was billed previous day (step  560 ). If yes, then a determination is made to check if the current day&#39;s billing peak demand is equal to previous day&#39;s billing peak demand (step  590 ). If yes, (no new peak was established), then another determination is made to check if the billing peak demand is lower is value than any of the daily peak demand in any of the bins (step  595 ). If yes, then a new peak was established in that bin but was not reflected in the billing peak demand and hence the read is tagged as an Incorrect Peak Demand (step  610 ). If the current day billing peak demand is not equal to previous day&#39;s billing peak demand then a determination is made as to whether current peak demand is lower than previous day&#39;s billing peak demand (step  600 .) If current billing peak demand equals current day daily peak demand (step  605 ) then a determination is made as to whether current daily peak demand is less than previous day&#39;s billing peak demand (step  615 ) meter is tagged as IPD (Incorrect Peak Demand.) 
     An example of such an IPD read is shown below. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Demand Reads as Delivered by an AMR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
               
               
                   
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
               
               
                 Date 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Jan. 19, 2002 
                 0.511 
                 0.504 
                 0.468 
                 0.525 
                 0.561 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                 Jan. 20, 2002 
                 0.511 
                 0.475 
                 0.475 
                 0.496 
                 0.633 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                 Jan. 21, 2002 
                 0.633 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0.633 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                 Jan. 22, 2002 
                 0.504 
                 0.489 
                 0.367 
                 0.511 
                 0.633 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                 Jan. 23, 2002 
                 0.475 
                 0.518 
                 0.424 
                 0.511 
                 0.633 
                 0.547 
                 0.504 
                 0.54 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Demand readings after being processed by the current invention 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Bill- 
                 Bill- 
                 Bill- 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Daily 
                 Cycle 
                 Cycle 
                 Cycle 
                 Bill-Cycle 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                 Demand 
                   
               
               
                 Date 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 Bin 1 
                 Bin 2 
                 Bin 3 
                 Bin 4 
                 Tag 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Jan. 19, 2002 
                 .511 
                 .504 
                 .468 
                 .525 
                 .561 
                 .547 
                 .504 
                 .54 
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 20, 2002 
                 .511 
                 .475 
                 .475 
                 .496 
                 .561 
                 .547 
                 .54 
                 .54 
                 IPD 
               
               
                 Jan. 21, 2002 
                 .633 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 .633 
                 .547 
                 .54 
                 .54 
                 DRM 
               
               
                 Jan. 22, 2002 
                 .504 
                 .489 
                 .367 
                 .511 
                 .633 
                 .547 
                 .54 
                 .54 
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 23, 2002 
                 .475 
                 .518 
                 .424 
                 .511 
                 .633 
                 .547 
                 .54 
                 .54 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , an illustration in flowchart of a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. Utilities traditionally do not bill its customers for fractional energy usage. Cumulative consumption reads provided to billing are always rounded down to an integer value. Applying this same logic to TOU readings results in an understating of the Bin values by up to 4 units (if there are only four time of use bins). This understatement of consumptions is termed “Truncation” or “Rounding.”  FIG. 8  depicts the steps of getting the current reads for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  635 .) As each meter is processed one-by-one, a determination is made as to whether the current read is good and if it is the first read for the meter (step  640 .) If yes, the current cumulative offset is calculated, which is equal to the difference of cumulative read and sum of all four bins (step  645 )? If the previous day&#39;s cumulative offset is null (step  650 ) then the meter is tagged as Rounding with Offset (R WO) (step  655 ) In an AMR system, most meters start as a Cumulative consumption meter before being converted to TOU. Since the four TOU registers start at zero and are “turned On” at a later date, the consumption represented by the sum of the TOU registers differs from the value of the cumulative consumption register by a fixed amount. This fixed amount is known as the “offset” value. The “offset” value should remain constant over time except when one or more registers rolls over. The offset value is used for detecting meter hardware and software errors. 
     In the example below the readings for a meter that was ‘turned ON’ after being a CUM only meter. An initial offset value needs to be established on the first day of the TOU read. The AMR CUM read may have required nominal adjustment to account for rounding. The following tables are examples of the offset creation process. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Original Data as provided by an AMR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Read time  
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 10, 2002 
                 28429 
                 00012 
                 00019 
                 00007 
                 00008 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by the current invention 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   
                   
                 BIN 
                   
                 BIN 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Read time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 4 
                 TAG 
                 Offset 
                 Notes 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Feb. 10, 2002 
                 28429  
                 00012 
                 00019 
                 00007 
                 00008 
                 RWO 
                 28383 
                 First 
               
               
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 TOU 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 read 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Offset 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Created 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     If the previous day&#39;s cumulative offset is not null then a determination is made as to whether the current read is less than previous day&#39;s reads (step  660 .) If yes, then the next step  665  involves a determination as to whether it is a valid rollover for the cumulative read. If yes, a determination is made as to whether bin  1  cumulative read is less than the previous day&#39;s bin  1  cumulative read (step  670 ). If yes, and if it is a valid rollover for the Bin  1  cumulative read (step  675 ) then a determination is made as to whether bin  2  cumulative read is less than the previous day&#39;s bin  2  cumulative read (step  680 ). If yes, and if it is a valid rollover for bin  2  cumulative read (step  685 ) then a determination is made as to whether bin  3  cumulative read is less than the previous day&#39;s bin  3  cumulative read (step  690 .) If yes, a determination is made as to whether it is a valid rollover for bin  3  cumulative read (step  695 .) If yes, a determination is made as to whether bin  4  cumulative read is less than the previous day&#39;s bin  4  cumulative read (step  700 .) If yes, and if it is a valid rollover for bin  4  cumulative read (step  705 ) and if it is a valid rollover case for cumulative read or any four bins (step  710 ) then the meter is tagged as Rounding With Rollover (RWR.) (step  715 .) If bin  4  cumulative read is greater than or equal to the previous day&#39;s bin  4  cumulative read and if it is a valid rollover case for cumulative read or any of the four bins then the meter is tagged as Rounding With Rollover (R WR) (step  715 ). If there are more meters to be checked (step  720 ) then the aforementioned steps are repeated with the next meter (step  725 .) If the previous day&#39;s cumulative offset minus current cumulative offset is less than rounding threshold (step  730 ) then the meter is tagged as Change in Offset (CIO.) (step  735 ). If the previous day&#39;s cumulative offset minus current cumulative offset is greater than or equal to the rounding threshold and if the previous day&#39;s cumulative offset is not equal to current cumulative offset (step  740 ) then the meter is tagged as Rounding Within Threshold (RWT) (step  745 .) Most cases of rounding involve adjusting the CUM value up or down so that the sum of the usages in the TOU bins equal the usage in the CUM value. In the example below the AMR CUM read required nominal adjustment to of the Cumulative Consumption account for rounding of the TOU Bins. When the amount of CUM value to be adjusted is within the threshold (4 KWH if there are four (4) TOU Bins) then the read is tagged as a RWT. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Original Data as provided by an AMR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Read time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 08, 2002:23:59:59 
                 99696 
                 16896 
                 5589 
                 9253 
                 5963 
               
               
                 Jan. 09, 2002:23:59:59 
                 99891 
                 16946 
                 5635 
                 9316 
                 5998 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by the current Invention 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Read 
                   
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 time 
                 CUM 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 TAG 
                 Offset 
                 Notes 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 08,  
                 99696  
                 16896 
                 5589 
                 9253 
                 5963 
                 RWT 
                 61995 
                 Rounding 
               
               
                 2002: 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 within 
               
               
                 23:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Threshold 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 CUM 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Adjusted 
               
               
                 Jan. 09,  
                 99890  
                 16946 
                 5635 
                 9316 
                 5998 
                 RWT 
                 61994 
                 Rounding 
               
               
                 2002: 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 within 
               
               
                 23:59:59 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Threshold 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 CUM 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Adjusted 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     If neither or none of the bin reads are a valid rollover then the meter is tagged as Rollover Not Validated (RNV) (step  750 .) Anytime the CUM value or Bin value decrements from the previous day, a test for rollover must be made. The test as displayed in the below example is specific for each utility and in one implementation of the current invention is made by determining historical energy usage and comparing that usage with calculated usage for the current day assuming a rollover. If the current usage is less than 20 times the historical usage, a rollover is assumed. Historical energy is evaluated by calculating a single day&#39;s usage either 7,8 or 14 days previously (configurable parameters). If this historical usage can not be determined and a rollover may have taken place, the current reads are tagged RNV. 
     If the following example, it can be seen that the current reading (day 0) is less than the previous day&#39;s read (day 1). To determine if a rollover exists, the current daily usage is calculated assuming a rollover, in this case the usage is 3 units of energy (100002-99999). This daily usage is compared to twenty times the usage seven days prior that was 20 units (20×1). Since 3 units is less than 20 units, rollover is assumed to have taken place. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Day  
                 Reading 
                 Usage 
                 Comment 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 15 
                 99981 
                 — 
                   
               
               
                   
                 14  
                 99982 
                 1 
                 Normal Usage 
               
               
                   
                 13  
                 99983 
                 1 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 12  
                 99985 
                 2 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 11  
                 99986 
                 1 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 10  
                 99987 
                 1 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 9 
                 99988  
                 1 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 8 
                 99989  
                 1 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 7 
                 99990  
                 1 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 6 
                 99991  
                 1 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 5 
                 99992  
                 1 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 4 
                 99994  
                 2 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 3 
                 99996  
                 2 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 2 
                 99998  
                 2 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 1 
                 99999  
                 1 
                 Normal 
               
               
                   
                 0 
                 00002  
                 ? ? ? 
                 Did a rollover take place? 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     If the rounding situation was identified and can be validated by the same algorithm above, and determined that a true rollover occurred, the reading is tagged as a R WR the AMR read may have required nominal adjustment to account for rounding but because of a register rollover, a new offset value was established. The following tables are examples of the offset adjustment process due to a rollover. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Original Data as provided by an AMR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Read time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2  
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Feb. 10, 2002 
                 99892  
                 16946 
                 5635 
                 9316 
                 5998 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Feb. 11, 2002  
                 92 
                 17010 
                 5670 
                 9372 
                 6044 
               
               
                   
                 11:09:56 PM 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by the current invention 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Read 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
                 TAG 
                 Offset 
                 Notes 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Feb. 10,  
                 99891 
                 16946 
                 5635 
                 9316 
                 5998 
                 RWT 
                 61996 
                 Read 
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Within 
               
               
                 11:59:59  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Threshold 
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Feb. 11,  
                 92 
                 17010 
                 5670 
                 9372 
                 6044 
                 RWR 
                 −38004 
                 Rounding 
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 With 
               
               
                 11:09:56  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Rollover 
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 New  
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Offset 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Created 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Generally an electric meter is initialized as a Cumulative consumption only meter and after a period of time is reconfigured as a Time-of-Use meter. The energy consumption registered by the meter just prior to enabling TOU is stored in the Meter Data Warehouse (MDW) as a TOU offset value. The value is defined mathematically as:
 
Offset=CUM Register Value−Sum of the TOU Bins
 
The offset should stay constant+/−4 over time (The +/−4 accounts for rounding of the KWH values in each of the four (4) bins). Changes in this offset are the result of:
         Normal bin or register rollovers   Register resets   Bin resets       

     When the difference in consumption values for two successive reads does not agree with the difference in TOU Bin values, a new offset is calculated. A determination is made by the VAEE process to determine the cause for the offset change. If the cause is due to a reset, some sort of billing adjustment is probably necessary in the near future and the discrepancy is flagged in MDW as CIO (Change in offset). 
     The following table shows a partial set of reads as delivered by an AMR vendor to a utility that is then stored in a meter data warehouse. At first glance, all the bins and CUM values appear to be incrementing normally. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 TOU and CUM Reads as Delivered by any AMR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Read time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Feb. 10, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 28429 
                 5569 
                 2805 
                 4311 
                 3168 
               
               
                 Feb. 11, 2002 11:09:56 PM 
                 28491 
                 5576 
                 2814 
                 4337 
                 3188 
               
               
                 Feb. 12, 2002 9:20:43 PM  
                 28528 
                 5580 
                 2819 
                 4343 
                 3188 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Upon receipt of the first set of TOU reads, the current process calculates and stores the initial offset value. An offset value is calculated for each subsequent read and compared to the initial offset value. Differences in offset of up to 4 are allowed to handle truncation and rollover scenarios. If the offset changes by more than 4, either a reset or rollover has taken place. The following table shows that a new offset resulted on Feb. 12, 2002. This offset was the result of the CUM register advancing by 22 KWH than the bins. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Read 
                   
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                   
                 BIN 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 time 
                 CUM 
                 1 
                 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 4 
                 TAG 
                 Offset 
                 Notes 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Feb. 10,  
                 28429 
                 5569 
                 2805 
                 4311 
                 3168 
                 RWO 
                 12576 
                 Offset 
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Created 
               
               
                 11:59:59  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Feb. 11,  
                 28491 
                 5576 
                 2814 
                 4337 
                 3188 
                 RWT 
                 12576 
                 Rounding 
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 within 
               
               
                 11:09:56  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Threshold 
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Feb. 12,  
                 28528 
                 5580 
                 2819 
                 4343 
                 3188 
                 CIO 
                 12598 
                 Bins 
               
               
                 2002 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 increased  
               
               
                 9:20:43  
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 by 15 while 
               
               
                 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 CUM 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Register 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Changed  
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 by 37 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Allocation and estimation takes place to fill in missing data. The estimation is made the day the missing data is first identified and then adjusted once a good read is provided later by the AMR vendor. If the estimate is used for billing, it is flagged so that it is not adjusted when a good read later becomes available. This is to prevent disagreement between the data available for customer presentment and date used for billing. These rules can vary from utility to utility and hence the current invention&#39;s architecture involves using lookup tables and parameters to drive the algorithms used for allocation and estimation. This very generic and flexible architecture is one of the main features of this invention. For the sake of explanation a preferred embodiment of the present invention&#39;s general estimating rules is presented below:
         Allocations and estimates are based on a similar day&#39;s usage history
 
1. Use last week&#39;s read if last week&#39;s read is available and has no error flags associated with it.
 
2. One-week-old read must be of the same day type. A holiday cannot be used to allocate/estimate a non-holiday.
 
3. Use two week old read if two-week-old read is available and has no error flags associated with it.
 
4. Two-week-old read must be of the same day type. A holiday cannot be used to allocate/estimate a non-holiday.
 
5. Use eight day old read if eight-day-old read is available and has no error flags associated with it.
 
6. Eight-day-old read must be of the same day type. A holiday cannot be used to allocate/estimate a non-holiday.
 
7. Use a Sunday read to allocate/estimate a holiday read.
   Do not estimate demand reads   Do not estimate more than seven days in a row.       

     This refers to a situation where the data for calculating the allocation values is not present and the algorithm has exhausted all avenues of estimating the value. In such a situation the read is tagged as NHD since no historical data was present to help in the calculation of the estimate. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. The flowchart depicts the steps of getting the current meter reads for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  800 ). As each meter is processed on-by-one, a determination is made as to whether the current read is a stale, incomplete or missing read (step  805 ). If no, then the next meter is selected for analysis. If yes, then the process has to estimate the read because that is one of its core functionalities. In order to correctly estimate a read, the process requires a previous read to estimate based on the meter/customer&#39;s usage pattern. A determination is made to check if this is the first day&#39;s read for the meter (step  810 ). If it is determined to be the first day&#39;s read, then the read is tagged as a No historical data found (NHD) step  820 . Since the estimate has to be added to previous day&#39;s cum read, a determination is made to check the status of the read previous day and verify that is was not a Reset read (step  815 ). If it was a rest read previous day, a good estimate cannot be added to a suspect read and hence the read is tagged as a No historical data found (NHD) step  820 . A determination is made to check if any more meter are to be processed (step  825 ) and if Yes then the next meter in the list is processed using the same process as above (step  830 ). In the example below an allocation/estimation could not be made since the historical data was not available or did not meet strict rules to allow it to be used for estimating purposes. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by the current invention 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Entry 
                   
                   
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                   
               
               
                 Date 
                 Read Time 
                 CUM 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 Tag 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Dec.  
                 Dec. 25, 
                 10:26:52 AM 
                 30158 
                 4480 
                 1129 
                 2646 
                 2375 
                 NHD 
               
               
                 28, 
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Dec.  
                 Dec. 25, 
                 10:26:52 AM 
                 30158 
                 4480 
                 1129 
                 2646 
                 2375 
                 NHD 
               
               
                 29, 
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Dec.  
                 Dec. 25, 
                 10:26:52 AM 
                 30158 
                 4480 
                 1129 
                 2646 
                 2375 
                 NHD 
               
               
                 30, 
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Dec.  
                 Dec. 25, 
                 10:26:52 AM 
                 30158 
                 4480 
                 1129 
                 2646 
                 2375 
                 NHD 
               
               
                 31, 
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 1,  
                 Dec. 25, 
                 10:26:52 AM 
                 30158 
                 4480 
                 1129 
                 2646 
                 2375 
                 NHD 
               
               
                 2002 
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 2,  
                 Dec. 25, 
                 10:26:52 AM 
                 30158 
                 4480 
                 1129 
                 2646 
                 2375 
                 NHD 
               
               
                 2002 
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 3,  
                 Dec. 25, 
                 10:26:52 AM 
                 30158 
                 4480 
                 1129 
                 2646 
                 2375 
                 ETO 
               
               
                 2002 
                 2001 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 4,  
                 Dec. 25, 
                 10:26:52 AM 
                 30158 
                 4480 
                 1129 
                 2646 
                 2375 
                 ETO 
               
               
                 2002 
                 2001 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
                                                                                             Original Data as provided by an AMR vendor            Entry           BIN   BIN   BIN   BIN       Date   Read Time   CUM   1   2   3   4                    Dec.    Dec. 25, 2001   10:26:52 AM   30158   4480   1129   2646   2375       28,                                   2001                                   Dec.    Dec. 25, 2001   10:26:52 AM   30158   4480   1129   2646   2375       29,                                   2001                                   Dec.    Dec. 25, 2001   10:26:52 AM   30158   4480   1129   2646   2375       30,                                   2001                                   Dec.    Dec. 25, 2001   10:26:52 AM   30158   4480   1129   2646   2375       31,                                   2001                                   Jan.   Dec. 25, 2001   10:26:52 AM   30158   4480   1129   2646   2375       1,                                   2002                                   Jan.   Dec. 25, 2001   10:26:52 AM   30158   4480   1129   2646   2375       2,                                   2002                                   Jan.   Dec. 25, 2001   10:26:52 AM   30158   4480   1129   2646   2375       3,                                   2002                                   Jan.   Dec. 25, 2001   10:26:52 AM   30158   4480   1129   2646   2375       4,                                   2002                    
Estimation Overflow (ETO)
 
     Utilities generally do not continue to estimate forever is a meter read is not available. Stale reads beyond a threshold indicate a problem with the meter and they would like to investigate and if necessary replace the meter in the field. A particular implementation of the current invention uses six consecutive days to estimate and then stops estimation. The next day the reads will be tagged as ETO. In the above example, the meter reported stale (the read time of 12/15 was outside the acceptable window) and the process tried to estimate the reads. It was tagged as NHD since no historical reads were available to calculate the estimate. But if they were available, the reads would have been estimated. In both cases the seventh day would have been tagged as an ETO. Replacement of the meter is not necessary, but a Virtual Meter Exchange of the meter on UBS could correct the reads for customer billing. The ETO read would need to be supplied to the UBS with an adjusted set of stop and start reads. A limitation on the number of estimates is imposed on both stale reads and good reads. In the second scenario, the meter has reported a good read after many days of stale and partial reads and a threshold prevents it from re-adjusting all the estimated reads in between. Is such a scenario we tag the current Good read with an ETO for estimation threshold overflow. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. The flowchart depicts the steps of getting the current meter reads for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  835 ). As each meter is processed on-by-one, a determination is made as to whether the current read is a good read (step  840 ). If yes, then the process rules for a good read that could be tagged as an ETO ( 842 ) is executed. If no, then a search is made to get the previous good read (step  845 ). If a previous good read is not found (very unlikely scenario since it would be tagged as a NHD first before being tagged as an ETO) then the current read is tagged as ETO (step  860 ). If a previous good read is found and its date is found to be older than the “eto_threshold”, the current reads are tagged as an ETO or (Estimation Threshold Overflow). A determination is made to check if any more meter are to be processed (step  865 ) and if Yes then the next meter in the list is processed using the same process as above (step  870 ). 
     Similarly, referring to  FIG. 11 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. The flowchart depicts the steps of getting the current meter reads for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  875 ). As each meter is processed on-by-one, a determination is made as to whether the current read is a good read (step  880 ). If yes, then the process rules for a good read that could be tagged as an ETO ( 842 ) is executed. If no (step  885 ), then a search is made to get the previous good read (step  890 ). If a previous good read is found and its date is found to be older than the “eto_threshold”, the current reads are tagged as an ETO or (Estimation Threshold Overflow) (step  905 ). A determination is made to check if any more meter are to be processed (step  910 ) and if Yes then the next meter in the list is processed using the same process as above (step  915 ). 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. This flowchart depicts the steps of getting the current meter reads for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  920 .) If the current read is not a good read (step  925 ) then estimating the cumulative read based on different wave options in step  930 . If the old read is a good read or an estimated read (step  935 ) and if the old read is a good read (step  940 ) then the meter is tagged as WOR (Week old Reads  945 ). This refers to a situation where a week old (same day type) good read was used to calculate the estimate that was then used for editing the stale read. In the example below, no Good read was available on entry date Feb. 25, 2002. Data from seven days ago was used to derive the estimate. The same usage pattern is assumed. The current invention process used the reads with entry dates of 2/17 and 2/18 to determine the normal consumption pattern for a Sunday (2/24 and 2/17). The historical pattern suggested a daily usage of 149 KWH. This historical usage was added the read provided on Feb. 24, 2002 to estimate the Feb. 25, 2002 read. The resulting estimation based on a week old read is 3878 KWH (149+3729). The read was tagged as WOR since both the 2/17 and 2/18 reads were good end-of-the-day AMR reads and not estimates. Since estimates can also be used to derive futures estimation values. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Original Data as provided by an AMR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Entry Date 
                 Read Time 
                 CUM 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Feb. 17, 2002 
                 Feb. 16, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3104 
               
               
                 Feb. 18, 2002 
                 Feb. 17, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3253 
               
               
                 Feb. 19, 2002 
                 Feb. 18, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3265 
               
               
                 Feb. 20, 2002 
                 Feb. 19, 2002 10:02:32 PM 
                 3369 
               
               
                 Feb. 21, 2002 
                 Feb. 19, 2002 10:02:32 PM 
                 3369 
               
               
                 Feb. 22, 2002 
                 Feb. 21, 2002 7:07:39 PM  
                 3563 
               
               
                 Feb. 23, 2002 
                 Feb. 21, 2002 7:07:39 PM 
                 3563 
               
               
                 Feb. 24, 2002 
                 Feb. 23, 2002 8:02:47 AM  
                 3729 
               
               
                 Feb. 25, 2002 
                 Feb. 23, 2002 8:02:47 AM  
                 3729 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by the current invention 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Entry Date 
                 Read Time 
                 CUM 
                 Tag 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 17, 2002 
                 Feb. 16, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3104 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 18, 2002 
                 Feb. 17, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3253 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 19, 2002 
                 Feb. 18, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3265 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 20, 2002 
                 Feb. 19, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3369 
                 CGR 
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 21, 2002 
                 Feb. 20, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3446 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 22, 2002 
                 Feb. 21, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3563 
                 CGR 
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 23, 2002 
                 Feb. 22, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3674 
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 24, 2002 
                 Feb. 23, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3729 
                 WOE 
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 25, 2002 
                 Feb. 24, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3878 
                 WOR 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     However, if the old read is not a good read or estimated read and if there are more meters to be checked (step  960 ) then the next meter is processed. If the old read is not a good read and if the old read is an estimated read then the meter is tagged as WOE (Week Old Estimates.) (step  955 .) This refers to a situation where a week old (same day type) estimate was used to calculate the estimate that was then used for editing the stale read. In the example below, no Good read was available on entry date Feb. 24, 2002. Data from seven days ago (an estimated values as indicated by CGR) was used to derive the estimate. The same usage pattern is assumed. A stale read was received from the AMR system on Feb. 24, 2002 for Feb. 23, 2002 midnight read. The current invention process used the reads with entry dates of 2/16 and 2/17 to determine the normal consumption pattern for a Saturday (2/23 and 2/16). The historical pattern suggested a daily usage of 55 KWH. This historical usage was added the read provided on Feb. 23, 2002 to estimate the Feb. 24, 2002 read. The resulting estimation based on a week old estimate is 3729 KWH (155+3674). The read was tagged as WOE since the 2/16 read was tagged as an estimate (CGR). 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Control Data as provided by an ANR vendor 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Entry Date 
                 Read Time 
                 CUM 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Feb. 16, 2002 
                 Feb. 11, 2002 4:17:01 AM 
                 2607 
               
               
                 Feb. 17, 2002 
                 Feb. 16, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3104 
               
               
                 Feb. 18, 2002 
                 Feb. 17, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3253 
               
               
                 Feb. 19, 2002 
                 Feb. 18, 2002 11:59:59 PM 
                 3265 
               
               
                 Feb. 20, 2002 
                 Feb. 19, 2002 10:02:32 PM 
                 3369 
               
               
                 Feb. 21, 2002 
                 Feb. 19, 2002 10:02:32 PM 
                 3369 
               
               
                 Feb. 22, 2002 
                 Feb. 21, 2002 7:07:39 PM 
                 3563 
               
               
                 Feb. 23, 2002 
                 Feb. 21, 2002 7:07:39 PM 
                 3563 
               
               
                 Feb. 24, 2002 
                 Feb. 22, 2002 8:02:47 AM  
                 3729 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by the current invention 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Entry Date 
                 Read Time 
                 CUM 
                 Tag 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 16, 2002  
                 Feb .15, 2002  
                 3049 
                 CGR 
               
               
                   
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 17, 2002  
                 Feb. 16, 2002  
                 3104 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 18, 2002  
                 Feb. 17, 2002  
                 3253 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 19, 2002  
                 Feb. 18, 2002  
                 3265 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 20, 2002  
                 Feb. 19, 2002  
                 3369 
                 CGR 
               
               
                   
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 21, 2002  
                 Feb. 20, 2002  
                 3446 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 22, 2002  
                 Feb. 21, 2002  
                 3563 
                 CGR 
               
               
                   
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 23, 2002  
                 Feb. 22, 2002  
                 3674 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feb. 24, 2002  
                 Feb. 23, 2002  
                 3729 
                 WOE 
               
               
                   
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Referring to  FIG. 13 , an illustration in flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is presented. This flowchart depicts the steps of getting the current meter reads for each meter along with the previous day&#39;s reads for each meter (step  970 .) If the current read is good (step  975 ) and if the previous day&#39;s read is not a good read (step  980 ) then the last good read is ascertained in step  985 . If the last good read is found to be within the threshold (step  990 ) then Current Good Read Calculation id done between two good reads (step  995 ) and the meter is tagged as CGR (Estimation based on Current Good Read.) (step  1000 .) 
     CGR refers to a situation where a Good read is available today and today&#39;s read is then used to re-estimate any estimates done in the past. This ensures that the smoothing is perfect and the customer does not see any artificially created negative consumption by the current process. The estimation process starts with the last good AMR read and uses previous usage patterns to determine the absolute energy usage for each time period to estimate the current CUM and Bin values. The re-estimation process uses a set of actual reads to “bracket” or bound the estimates. The previous usage patterns are then used to allocate the true energy usage over the period of time where no AMR data was available. These new CUM and Bin values based on percent allocation calculations are tagged as “CGR”. 
     It must be emphasized that the CGR process is not an estimation algorithm but rather an allocation algorithm. The total CUM and Bin energy usage is based on actual AMR readings. The exact date of usage is the only parameter being determined by the CGR algorithm. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Original Data as provided by AMR vendor (Meter stale on 
               
               
                 entry date Jan. 20, 2002) 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Entry Date 
                 Read Time 
                 CUM 
                 BIN 1 
                 BIN 2 
                 BIN 3 
                 BIN 4 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 17, 2002 
                 Jan. 16, 2002 
                 48326 
                 9146 
                 2380 
                 5159 
                 3612 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 18, 2002 
                 Jan. 17, 2002 
                 48372 
                 9162 
                 2387 
                 5169 
                 3624 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 19, 2002 
                 Jan. 18, 2002 
                 48414 
                 9176 
                 2395 
                 5181 
                 3632 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 20, 2002 
                 Jan. 18, 2002 
                 48414 
                 9176 
                 2395 
                 5181 
                 3632 
               
               
                   
                 11:59:59 PM 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by the current invention on Jan. 20, 
               
               
                 2002 (Estimation performed Jan. 20, 2002 entry date based on 
               
               
                 Week Old Read) 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Entry 
                   
                   
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 Read 
                   
               
               
                 Date 
                 Read Time 
                 CUM 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 Flag 
                 Tag 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 17,  
                 Jan. 16, 2002  
                 48326 
                 9146 
                 2380  
                 5159 
                 3612 
                 E 
                 RWT 
               
               
                 2002 
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 18,  
                 Jan. 17, 2002 
                 48372  
                 9162 
                 2387  
                 5169 
                 3624 
                 G 
                   
               
               
                 2002 
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 19,  
                 Jan. 18, 2002 
                 48414 
                 9176 
                 2395  
                 5181 
                 3632 
                 G 
                   
               
               
                 2002 
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 20,  
                 Jan. 18, 2002 
                 48470 
                 9185 
                 2402  
                 5202 
                 3651 
                 E 
                 WOR 
               
               
                 2002 
                 11:59:59 PM 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Readings after being processed by the current invention on Jan. 21, 2002  
               
               
                 (Re-estimation of Jan. 20, 2002 entry date based on Current Good Read) 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Entry 
                 Read 
                   
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 BIN 
                 Read 
                   
               
               
                 Date 
                 Time 
                 CUM 
                 1 
                 2 
                 3 
                 4 
                 Flag 
                 Tag 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 17,  
                 Jan. 16, 2002 
                 48326 
                 9146 
                 2380 
                 5159 
                 3612 
                 E 
                 RWT 
               
               
                 2002 
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 18,  
                 Jan. 17, 2002 
                 48372 
                 9162 
                 2387 
                 5169 
                 3624 
                 G 
                   
               
               
                 2002 
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 19,  
                 Jan. 18, 2002 
                 48414 
                 9176 
                 2395 
                 5181 
                 6362 
                 G 
                   
               
               
                 2002 
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 20,  
                 Jan. 18, 2002 
                 48474 
                 9186 
                 2403 
                 5203 
                 3652 
                 E 
                 CGR 
               
               
                 2002 
                 11:59:59 PM 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Jan. 21,  
                 Jan. 20, 2002 
                 48525 
                 9237 
                 2403 
                 5203 
                 3652 
                 G 
                 RWT 
               
               
                 2002 
                 11:59:59 PM 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     In the above example, the CUM value 48470 on Jan. 20, 2002 and its TOU reads 9185, 2402, 5202, 3651 were changed to 48474, 9186, 2403, 5203, 3652 further fine tuning the estimate based in the current day&#39;s good reads. It is assumed that the current process is running for entry date Jan. 21, 2002. Although today&#39;s reads were previously tagged as RWT (Rounding within threshold), the same are then used to perform re-estimation on past estimates, hence updating the read tag for Jan. 20, 2002 from WOR to CGR. 
       FIG. 14  is a flow chart depicting the steps of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In step  1025 , weather data ( 1015 ) and data stored in meter data warehouse ( 1020 ) is aggregated and stored based on location, rates and weather attribution ranges. In step  1030  weighted usage or demand average is calculated with respect to different options. In step  1040  all weather options are selected and stale or partial or incomplete or missing reads are estimated (step  1040 .) In step  1045  location, day type and weather attribute options are invoked. If read does not exist based on location day type and weather attributes with valid average sample size (step  1050 ) location and day type options are invoked (step  1055 ). If read does not exist based on location and day type with valid average sample size (step  1060 ) then rate, attribute and weather attributes option is invoked (step  1065 ). If read does not exist based on rate, day type and weather attributes with valid average sample size (step  1070 ) then rate and day type options are invoked (step  1075 .) If read does not exist based on rate and day type with valid average sample size (step  1080 ) and if estimation of reads based on weather data is not possible (step  1085 ) then the next read is processed (step  1090 .) Otherwise, CUM, OEM and all tiered reads are estimated (step  1095 .)