Aidon - Helen Electricity
Network delivers first-rate customer service
Helen Electricity Network is one of the largest electricity distribution system operator companies in Finland with around 350.000 customers residing in the Finnish capital; Helsinki. In 2007 they selected Aidon's smart metering solution to be implemented in the urban district of Helsinki.
The key driver
for renewing the metering system was to obtain consumption information in a more reliable and cost-efficient way. Also, the advanced smart metering system is used to deliver
instant information about the network's status and potential problems, as well as to perform certain operations remotely. Altogether these functions contribute to enhanced customer services by enabling
faster response times, more accurate billing
and by making it possible for
end-users to monitor their
energy consumption.
Co-operation project
The project, which started in 2007 and was completed in 2010, was carried
out in close cooperation between
the three parties involved:
- Helen Electricity Network,
- Aidon as the AMS
technology provider,
- Mitox Oy – a
company providing the meterreading
service.
Mitox, together with Eltel Networks Oy, carried out the installationof the devices. Today the solution covers
around 150,000 metering points, which are all equipped with the Aidon Energy
Service Devices. The solution uses three communication technologies for
delivering metering data: MeshNET short-rangeradio, RS485 wiredand GPRS/3G
cellular network connection.
Mika Nousiainen,
Metering Manager in Helen Electricity Network, is having a very positive
experience with Aidon's performance. “We have had a good cooperation with Aidon
for 5 years now. With their modular conceptand innovative solutions, Aidon is the forerunner in smart metering”,
Nousiainen says.
Customer-driven
innovation
Within such a
large customer base as in Helsinki, managing the subscriptions creates a
significant workload: On average, there are 4 000 cases of temporary
subscription cut-offs and reconnections every month. In order to manage and
streamline parts of this task, Helen Electricity Network uses the smart meters’
remote connection feature.
To serve the
needs of Helen Electricity Network, Aidon developed a circuit breaker with
safety cut off functionality, which is integrated to the meters. This feature
makes it possible to connect electricity to a household by remote. As a safety
precaution Aidon’s energy service devices check if there is active current in
the household right after electricity is switched on. If the current exceeds a
certain level, the meter to prevent accidents automatically switches off the
electricity. All Aidon meters in use by Helen Ele- ctricity Network are
equipped with the circuit breaker.
Aidon’s Control
Room service proved to be an invaluable asset during the rollout. It provided a
daily overview of previously installed devices with respective SLA reporting,
troubleshooting of all installed devices, telephone help-desk and cleanup work
management. Helen Electricity Network continues using the Control Room service
in their daily operation after the mass installations have been completed.
“With Aidon’s
advanced system we are exceeding our SLA targets in terms of performance and
reliability. As a trustworthy partner Aidon is pro- actively seeking the best
solution for the customer”, Nousiainen says, before concluding: “Our main goal
with this project was to improve our customer service and simplify many of our
processes, including maintenance of meters. Ai- don’s solutions meet our needs
in the best possible way”.
Case: Helen
electricity network:
- 150 000 Aidon Energy Service Devices installed since2008 in the urban district of Helsinki
- Highly
accurate and reliable metering data delivery
- Communication technologies utilized:
MeshNET, RS485, GPRS/3G point-to-point
- Circuitbreaker with safety cut-off functionality - enabling safe remote management of electricity supply to households - integrated into all meters
- Aidon's Control Room service in daily use for efficient maintenance
and monitoring of installed meter base