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The basic purpose of metering is to measure how much the consumers utilize power and
it tells the total demand of the power required to run the complete electric system of the
country. We measure the increasing demands on the power system by energy meters and
install new generating station according to the energy requirements.

First, the most common type of electricity meter is the electromechanical induction watt-
hour meter. The electromechanical induction meter operates by counting the revolutions
of an aluminum disc, which is made to rotate at a speed proportional to the power. The
number of revolutions is thus proportional to the energy usage. It consumes a small
amount of power, typically around 2 watts.

Electronic meters display the energy used on an LCD or LED display. In addition to
measuring energy used, electronic meters can also record other parameters of the load
and supply such as maximum demand, power factor and reactive power used.

This thesis demonstrates the use of the GSM based energy metering and billing system.
How it will improve the billing system in city and remote areas of our country.

1.1 Statement of the Problem:

Automatic meter reading (AMR) is the technology of automatically collecting data from
energy metering devices and transferring that data to a central database for billing and/or
analyzing. This saves employee trips, and means that billing can be based on actual
consumption rather than on an estimate based on previous consumption, giving customers
better control of their use of electric energy.

This means that billing can be based on actual consumption rather than on an estimate
based on previous consumption, giving customers better control of their use of electric
energy. The Transmitter is connected to the meter and it counts the pulses from it and
displays it over the seven-segment display. It transmits the data over radio frequency. At
the receiver end the data is received by an receiver module and interface it with computer
where it store in the data base and then through some software process it is uploaded on
net.

1.2 Purpose of Study:

The main emphasis in this thesis is given to the study of automatic energy metering
system and billing. In our current system the billing method is not digitalized it requires
man power and mostly the provide wrong billing report .So in order to remove corruption
in the billing system this system is useful because it is fully controlled by the computer
there is no human error expected in it. And we provide billing data on the internet, so it
removes the bill dispatching labour and sometimes bill doesn’t reaches on correct address
caused delay in billing and sometimes plenty of non-paying bill is on the user ,so it is
injustice .So we remove these drawbacks of the prevailing billing system.

1.3 Brief History:

The primary driver for the automation of meter reading is not so much to reduce labor
costs, but to obtain data that is otherwise unattainable. Many meters, especially water
meters, are located in areas that require an appointment with the homeowner. Gas and
Electricity tend to be more valuable commodities than water, and the need to offer actual
readings instead of estimated readings can drive a utility to consider automation. While
early systems consisted of walk-by, and drive-by AMR for residential.

Remote meter reading (or AMR) refers to the system that uses a communication
technique to automatically collect the meter readings and other relevant data from
utilities’ gas meters, without the need to physically visit the gas meters. The development
of AMR technology has catapulted meter data to center stage of the utility business plan.

1.4 Benefits of AMR:-

The automatic meter reading (AMR) technology is very useful in many applications. By
using AMR technology we can accommodate a lot of benefits. Some benefits of AMR
are as follow-

1.4.1 Electrical Company Benefits:-

 Smart automated processes instead of manual work.

 Accurate information from the network load to optimize maintenance and

investments.

 Customized rates and billing dates.

 Streamlined high bill investigations.

 Detection of tampering of Meters.

  Accurate measurement of transmission losses.

 Better network performance and cost efficiency.

 Demand and distribution management.

 More intelligence to business planning.

 Better company credibility.

 Accurate meter reading, no more estimates

 Improved billing

 Accurate Profile Classes and Measurement Classes, true costs applied

 Improved security and tamper detection for equipment

 Energy Management through profile data graphs

 Less financial burden correcting mistakes

 Less accrued expenditure

 Transparency of “cost to read” metering

 Improved procurement power though more accurate data - “de-risking” price

1.4.2 Customer Benefits:-

 Precise consumption information.

 Clear and accurate billing.

  Automatic outage information and faster recovery.

 Better and faster customer service.

 Flag potential high consumption before customer gets a high bill.

1.5 AMR Applications:-

As technology continues to improve in price/performance, the number of municipal

utilities implementing automatic meter reading (AMR) systems continues to grow.
Today, most AMR deployments are “walk-by” or “drive-by” systems. A battery-
operated transmitter in each meter sends a radio frequency (RF) signal that is read by a
special receiver either carried by hand or mounted in a vehicle. These solutions require a
much smaller staff of meter readers, who merely need to walk or drive by the many
meters in any neighborhood. Although this form of AMR is an enormous improvement
over manual meter reading, continued high labor and vehicle costs are driving the
industry to an even better solution.

Among the many advantages are the ability to monitor daily demand, implement
conservation programs, create usage profiles by time of day, and detect potentially
hazardous conditions, such as leaks or outages. But there is still one drawback with these
AMR deployments: the costly network backhaul required by leased lines or cellular
services from a local telephone company, or Power Line Carrier (PLC) solutions from the
local power company.

AMR is the remote collection of consumption data from customers’ utility meters using
telephony, radio frequency, power lines and satellite communications technologies. AMR
provides water, gas and electric utility-service companies the opportunity to increase
operational efficiency, improve customer service, reduce data-collection costs and
quickly gather critical information that provides insight to company decision-makers. [4]

1.6 Different AMR Technologies:-

There are many different technologies which are used in the AMR. Using these
technologies data can be send from transmitting end to the receiving end. In our project
we are using RF technology for transmitting the meter reading from one point to other
point. The different types of technologies are described below. Out of which handheld
technology is uses rarely.

1.6.1 Handheld:-

In handheld AMR, a meter reader carries a handheld computer with a built-in or attached
receiver/transceiver (radio frequency or touch) to collect meter readings from an AMR
capable meter. This is sometimes referred to as "walk-by" meter reading since the meter
reader walks by the locations where meters are installed as they go through their meter
reading route. Handheld computers may also be used to manually enter readings without
the use of AMR technology.

1.6.2 Touch Based:-

With touch based AMR, a meter reader carries a handheld computer or data collection
device with a wand or probe. The device automatically collects the readings from a meter
by touching or placing the read probe in close proximity to a reading coil enclosed in the
touchpad. When a button is pressed, the probe sends an interrogate signal to the touch
module to collect the meter reading. The software in the device matches the serial
number to one in the route database, and saves the meter reading for later download to a
billing or data collection computer.

1.6.3 Mobile:-

Mobile or "Drive-by" meter reading is where a reading device is installed in a vehicle.

The meter reader drives the vehicle while the reading device automatically collects the
meter readings. With mobile meter reading, the reader does not normally have to read
the meters in any particular route order, but just drives the service area until all meters are
read components often consist of a laptop or proprietary computer, software, RF receiver
or transceiver, and external vehicle antennas.

1.6.4 Fixed Network:-

Fixed Network AMR is a method where a network is permanently installed to

capture meter readings. This method can consist of a series of antennas, towers,
collectors, repeaters, or other permanently installed infrastructure to collect transmissions
of meter readings from AMR capable meters and get the data to a central computer
without a person in the field to collect it. [2]

There are several types of network topologies in use to get the meter data back to a
central computer. A star network is the most common, where a meter transmits its data to
a central collector or repeater. Some systems use only collectors which receive and store
data for processing. Others also use a repeater which forwards a reading from a more
remote area back to a main collector without actually storing it. A repeater may be
forwarded by RF signal or sometimes is converted to a wired network such as telephone
or IP network to get the data back to a collector. Some manufacturers are developing
mesh networks where meters themselves act as repeaters passing the data to nearby
meters until it makes it to a main collector. A mesh network may save the infrastructure
of many collection points, but is more data intensive on the meters. One issue with mesh
networks it that battery operated ones may need more power for the increased frequency
of transmitting. [7]

1.6.5 Radio Frequency Network:-

Radio frequency based AMR can take many forms. The more common ones are
Handheld, Mobile, and Fixed network. There are both two-way RF systems and one-way
RF systems in use that use both licensed and unlicensed RF bands. In a two-way or
"wake up" system, a radio transceiver normally sends a signal to a particular transmitter
serial number, telling it to wake up from a resting state and transmit its data. The Meter
attached transceiver and the reading transceiver both send and receive radio signals and
data. In a one-way “bubble-up” or continuous broadcast type system, the transmitter
broadcasts readings continuously every few seconds. This means the reading device can
be a receiver only, and the meter AMR device a transmitter only.

Data goes one way, from the meter AMR transmitter to the meter reading receiver. There
are also hybrid systems that combine one-way and two-way technologies, using one-way
communication for reading and two way communication for programming functions.RF
based meter reading usually eliminates the need for the meter reader to enter the property
or home, or to locate and open an underground meter pit. The utility saves money by
increased speed of reading, has lower liability from entering private property, and has
less chance of missing reads because of being locked out from meter access.

1.6.6 Power Line Communication:-

AMR is a method where electronic data is transmitted over power lines back to the
substation, then relayed to a central computer in the utility's main office. This would be
considered a type of fixed network system the network being the distribution network
which the utility has built and maintains to deliver electric power. Such systems are
primarily used for electric meter reading. Some providers have interfaced gas and water
meters to feed into a PLC type system.

1.6.7 Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi):-

Today many meters are designed to transmit using Wi-Fi even if a Wi-Fi network is not
available, and they are read using a drive-by local Wi-Fi hand held receiver. Narrow-
banded signal has a much greater range than Wi-Fi so the numbers of receivers required
for the project are far fewer the number of Wi-Fi access points covering the same area.
These special receiver stations then take in the narrow-band signal and report their data
via Wi-Fi Most of the automated utility meters installed in the Corpus Christi area are
battery powered. Compared to narrow-band burst telemetry, Wi-Fi technology uses far
too much power for long-term battery-powered operation. Thus Wi-Fi is the efficient
mean of communication in AMR technologies, which allows communication between the
central data base and the end users, and defines the efficient reliability of the system.
Thus offering a ultimate mean to fulfill the requirement.

1.6.8 AMR Hosting:

AMR Hosting is a back-office solution which allows a user to track his/her electricity,
water, or gas consumption over the Internet. All data is collected in near real-time, and is
stored in a centralized database by high-end data acquisition software. The user can view
the data via a secure web application, and can analyze the data using various online
analysis tools. The user can easily chart load profiles, analyze tariff components, and
verify his/her utility bill.

1.7 Description of RF Based AMR:-

 Originally AMR devices just collected meter readings electronically & matched
them with accounts.

 As technology has advanced, additional data could then be captured, stored, and
transmitted to the main computer, and often the metering devices could be
controlled remotely.

 This can include events alarms such as tamper, leak detection, low battery, or
reverse flow.

 Many AMR devices can also capture interval data, and log meter events.
 Radio frequency based AMR can take many forms. The more common one are
Handheld, Mobile, and Fixed network.