What will the natural gas utility of the future look like? It’s an important question, but one that may fall to the back burner for busy gas utility managers who are focused on day-to-day tasks. All around us, the rise of smart cities has led to increased consumer demand and expectations for connected infrastructure. Now, utilities have a golden opportunity to consider new technologies that will help meet customers’ expectations and tackle future challenges head on.
Recent technology advancements available to gas utilities and their core infrastructure may have yet to reach mass adoption, but they could point the way toward the future of the connected gas utility.
Many gas utility managers are aware of the benefits of advanced metering infrastructure, or AMI, in helping to deliver greater accuracy while carving out new efficiencies in data collection, analysis and decision-making. Today, the most recent developments in metering technology can bring added benefits while helping to accelerate the anticipated transition to smart gas.
While ultrasonic metering is not new to gas utilities, it has historically been cost-prohibitive for wide-scale residential deployment. As such, the industry has relied on mechanical meters for measuring gas consumption for the average home or residence. These mechanical meters have proved to be reliable and cost-effective, but in some circumstances they may have limitations in regards to size and the ability to collect and transmit data. These limitations are being addressed as years of research and development around ultrasonic measurement are paving the way for the emergence of competitively priced residential ultrasonic meters.
While there are numerous benefits to ultrasonic metering technology, the first, and most obvious, one is the size difference. Because there are fewer mechanical parts, the size and weight of an ultrasonic meter is generally at least half that of its diaphragm-driven counterpart. This equates to huge benefits for a gas utility, including increased fuel efficiencies related to reduced transportation weight, less warehouse space required for storage, and opportunities to fit in tight installation spaces. In short, smaller is better. As utilities are introduced to these new smaller meters, they have the opportunity to reassess operations and asset management, potentially supporting environmentally friendly initiatives that strive to reduce wasted packaging and lower fuel emissions from fleet vehicles.
Another key benefit of ultrasonic metering technology is the sustained accuracy, which allows utilities to increase internal efficiencies and streamline operations. These meters are designed to use sound waves to measure the speed of gas movement relative to the speed of sound and achieve high accuracy. Because there are no moving parts hindering the flow of gas or degrading over time, the age of the parts has no effect on read accuracy. The solid-state construction of ultrasonic meters also resists contamination and freezing better than mechanical meters. With these inherent traits, ultrasonic meters require less maintenance and fewer accuracy checks, helping utility managers save more time and money on field site visits and truck rolls and lowering the total cost of ownership over time.
Finally, with an electronic platform, new ultrasonic meters capture more data than ever before and allow for an easy integration with a communications platform to transmit this valuable information back to the utility. In addition to consumption, data around temperature, overflow, tampering and even unauthorized use are monitored and transmitted by these meters. The availability of this information promises to transform the way some utilities are doing business. As they calculate the value of this information and how they can better equip technicians to handle field issues, ultrasonic technology and electronic platforms might very well be the catalyst that allows utilities to adopt automatic meter-reading systems efficiently and upgrade directly to a smart gas utility.
New technologies have emerged that allow utilities to leverage their AMI solutions—specifically, the network supporting them—to remotely monitor cathodic protection, thereby improving safety and operational efficiency. By strategically deploying remote sensors connected through an AMI communications network, remote monitoring can save time and allow skilled corrosion specialists to focus on maintenance, not data collection. It can also lower vehicle operation and maintenance costs, helping crews perform a day’s worth of work in minutes.
Combining AMI with cathodic protection monitoring provides a host of additional benefits, including:
Both advancements discussed above represent the application of new methods to age-old practices. Managers will likely need to make a business case for deploying and/or upgrading these technologies to achieve new capabilities. It’s important to note that both methods also represent significant opportunity to improve overall operational efficiency and lower costs, that the benefits outweigh the risks and that the investments can begin paying returns almost immediately.
The demand for connected infrastructure isn’t going away. In fact, it will continue to increase as consumers become accustomed to the benefits of connectivity. With these changes, gas utility managers have a unique opportunity to consider what the future of their industry will look like and adopt new technologies that point the way. Making smart investments now will enable forward-thinking managers to capitalize on the benefits of today and help usher in the gas utility of tomorrow.