Welcome to the second part of this season’s first interview. Our first interviewee in season 4 is Klemen Belec, and this is a continuation of our previous blog, which you can read here. In this part, you will read about the future of multi-utilities, smart cities, and what’s necessary to include everything on a single bill. Also, read until the end to find out Mr. Belec’s most valuable career advice.
What is the future of Multi-utility since some electricity DSOs have abandoned this multi-utility strategy and have chosen to focus on energy?
The way I see it, we have three things to consider here.
The first one is the utility. Does it offer more than just electricity? Usually, utilities offer other services as well, and for them, it makes sense to use a single communication channel to the data center.
As second, if existing infrastructure has the option to connect something to the smart electricity meter, why wouldn’t they choose it? Let’s consider the benefits.
The end-user benefits by getting everything on a single bill. They can compare the bills, see if there is room for optimization, etc.
For utilities, it makes sense because of savings. If you’re using only one communication route, there is no need to pay for another. And there is less operation effort as well by operating and control single communication path.
The fact is that for those who have separate utilities for electricity, water, gas, …, and have their own management systems, it would be harder to establish a collaboration. Because they already have their own systems, and it is usually not easy to convince them to give up on their system and select another. Especially if they are somewhat ok with the performance and feature set of the system.
The third thing to consider is a smart city. In a smart city, everything is connected and interconnected, this mean a full remote control. Practically no need for on site operation.
Right now, we still have a lot of devices that require on site operation, but this will change in the future.
In your opinion, how can Multi-utility contribute to the development of smart cities? Is it necessary to have everything on a single bill for a city to be smart?
I believe having a single bill is a necessity. But it is a different question if multi-utility is needed for that. Those are two things that are not necessary connected. but getting there will surely be a challenging path.
There are examples in Europe – Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and the Netherlands, where things have been developing and happening in that field. For example, Austria has municipal utility companies collaborating to provide electrical and gas bills on a single statement.
I believe that gathering information and using the same route and the same data center makes economical sense.
No to be neglected is the configuration of the micro location. Where is the water meter situated, how close is it to the electrical meter? All of that affects the prices and overall business model calculation, thus, the savings.
Does the security increase with full connection of all utilities? What type of communication channels should be used?
When creating device profiles and communication protocols, we always consider security. In the structure of a smart city, where everything is connected and intertwined, every device should have sufficient security implemented.
DLMS association made more than a few steps toward securing protocols and adjusting to battery power performance. These profiles have upgraded security compared to what was used before.
Battery-powered devices can use a wired M-bus or wireless M-bus if they want to sub-connect to the electrical meter. And if they want to use a direct communication to the center, then NBIoT could be used.
LTE-M is great for electrical meters and works well for what we plan to do, gathering piles of information from multiple sources. And if we want to track the network near real time and provide raw data for analysis, LTE-M clearly is a better option than NBIoT. G3 PLC and G3 PLC + RF are also solid. At the end it always boils down to clear understanding for what purpose you can use your type of communication network for.
There are always several options, and one needs to calculate when and why they would use a specific type of communication. It varies from country to country, how demanding are the end-users, what is the state of electricity grid, level of solar generation in the grid, etc.
How do you see the development of Multi-utility in the future?
I believe there will be a development in that area. All the networks that are already connecting Multi-utility devices seem to be a good solution for utilities.
In my opinion, this can be an optimal decision for a Utility.
What is the most important lesson you learned throughout your career?
Always understand the industry where you work, understand the end-user’s needs, and know on the other side what vendors, the Industry, has to offer.
People working in one department or a segment may not always have the best grasp on a situation, and there may be solutions outside that would work better for them. Therefore I would advise that we should always look out for solutions, outside of our comfort zone.
Conclusion:
How Multi-utility will be implemented depends on the type of utility, the existing communication infrastructure and the speed of development of smart cities.
Security is essential, especially when multiple devices are connected to each other. When creating standards and communication protocols for devices, DLMS association paid particular attention to security.
Battery consumption must be taken into account when using battery-powered devices. DLMS association made an effort to adjust communication protocols to battery power performance.
Question for the audience
How would we motivate utilities to implement Multi-utility?