Design, Implementation and Field Testing of a Cloud-Based Smart Meter Installation Management

The European Union's Third Energy Package prescribes that at least 80 % of the European consumers shall be equipped with intelligent metering devices by 2020. This directive represents a vast challenge regarding the management of smart meter installation processes. In the course of a pilot roll-out in the city of Leipzig, we observed that these processes are currently not sufficiently supported by information and communication technology (ICT). This fact causes media disruptions and additional expenditure in terms of manual efforts. It is for this reason that we developed a cloud-based Smart Meter Installation Management (SMIM) that enables meter operators to capture and process business and installation data fully digital in the cloud. In this paper, we outline the functionality as well as the development process of SMIM from a practical point of view and present preliminary results and experiences.