SAIC Aids a Pennsylvania Utility With Its Smart Meter Program

Overview

SAIC is currently assisting Duquesne Light Company (DLC) with its Smart Meter Program, which includes an assessment of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and various radio frequency (RF) backhaul communication technologies required to meet program objectives, technology procurement, communication and network design, regulatory support, and the oversight of the implementation, including vendor management of schedule, budget and performance, and overall project risk.

DLC plans to deploy an AMI system, which will include approximately 612,000 residential, commercial, and industrial smart meters. The AMI system collectors require a means of communication to transport the two-way AMI traffic to and from smart meters to the Duquesne-owned fiber take out points for transport back to the DLC data center or head end application.

SAIC’s evaluation of the intermediate backhaul communications options will provide recommendations on solutions (public versus private), frequencies available demographically, as well as technologies and systems that can be used to perform intermediate backhaul the most optimally. The study includes:

• Definition of overarching network, communication and AMI requirements
• Initial analysis of private versus public wireless solutions, including coverage, bandwidth, cost, and security attributes
• Preliminary selection of technology options for private wireless (licensed and unlicensed spectrum) and public wireless
• Feasibility studies for 3.65 GHz spectrum with grandfathered Earth Stations co-existence
• Feasibility studies for 900 MHz and 220 MHz spectrum
• Calculation of traffic requirements (data rate per collector and total monthly volume estimates)
• Detailed evaluation of available public wireless service (current state and future developments)
• Detailed RF planning for selected private wireless technologies including area coverage and multipoint studies
• Detailed product comparison for pre-selected private wireless technologies (radios), including field testing
• Cost modeling
• Overview of available alternatives for mobile workforce and distribution automation communications
• Overview of relevant future technologies such as mobile workforce management and distribution automation applications that may be able to leverage the communication network
• Integration with existing utility fiber and wire line systems