With the problem in California and deregulation looming in many other states, power companies have been seeking ways to effectively allocate resources to manage loads. One solution is to install an electronic meter to log data at short intervals, such as 15 minutes, and transfer that information to the utility company monthly. The information helps the power company plan the development of new plants and equipment to create and distribute electricity more efficiently. But connectivity is now playing a more significant role in the transfer of stored data. So rather than wait a month to retrieve the data from a meter, utility companies are searching for solutions that allow daily and, in some cases, real-time streaming of recorded data.
Several methods are available for transferring the data.
Usually, a phone line is not far from a watt-hour meter. The second medium is RF, using cellular or spread-spectrum devices. The other medium not usually considered until recently is the power line itself. The limiting factor was the local transformers, which interfered with the communication method. But several new techniques, such as spread-spectrum transceivers, have overcome this limitation.