Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
CASE STUDIES
Sharma and her team set to work outlining the details of
the new system based on government mandates and internal
needs. With a systems analysis report in hand, Sharma began
searching for a company that could design and implement the
system. Soon she narrowed the field to three candidates: SPL
Solutions (Oracle), another customer-built solution, and SAP
for utilities. Sharma chose SAP primarily because the system
was designed for use by a utility company and required little
customization.
London Hydro selected another outside firm, Wipro
Technologies, to implement the system because Wipro had
extensive experience implementing utility software. The
resulting system provides powerful management of smart
metering data flowing from the government's central smart
metering data repository. The task of assigning time-of-use
prices based on customer consumption is fully automated
and will cause London Hydro no additional overhead.
Now that it is ready for smart-metering in 2010 and
beyond, London Hydro is investigating the integration of smart
metering with geographic information systems and outage
management systems. Ultimately all systems will be inte-
grated into one centralized ERP platform.
System development projects get started for a variety of
reasons. Often, they are intended to support a company's
strategic plans. Other times they are launched out of neces-
sity, such as to comply with government mandates. London
Hydro (LH), the electricity provider of London, Ontario, and
surrounding areas, is wrapping up a lengthy and costly sys-
tem upgrade that was sparked by government regulations.
Ontario prides itself on using the latest technologies to
conserve electricity. In 1998 it passed two regulations that
paved the way for smart-metering: the Electricity Act, 1998
and the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998. Smart-metering uses
computerized electric meters on homes and small busi-
nesses that can record electricity use on an hourly basis. So
rather than totaling up kilowatt-hours on a monthly basis, as
traditional meters do, smart meters provide a record of elec-
tricity use every hour. Smart meters are able to report usage
directly to the utilities companies over phone lines or Internet.
The benefit of smart meters, in addition to saving the elec-
tric company the cost of sending an employee to read meters,
is setting time-of-use pricing. Time-of-use pricing charges
customers more for electricity during peak hours (11 a.m.-
5 p.m.), less during mid-peak hours (7 a.m.-11 a.m. and
5 p.m.-10 p.m.), and even less during off-peak hours (10 p.m.-
7 a.m.). Time-of-use pricing should encourage consumers to
consume less during peak hours, adding up to big savings for
Ontario, its citizens, and the environment.
Toronto has pledged to install smart meters in every home
and small business in Ontario by 2010 (which covers 13 million
citizens spread out over a million square kilometers). The
province is requiring all power companies to support smart
meters and has provided standards and specifications so the
power companies can prepare.
Ontario's smart metering initiatives have power compa-
nies across the province scrambling to meet specifications
and deadlines. Software and hardware must be purchased
and installed to prepare for the arrival of a tidal wave of cus-
tomer consumption data. London Hydro started to prepare
early in hopes of getting a jump on the competition. Rather
than adding a new system to accommodate smart metering,
London Hydro decided it was time to upgrade all of its sys-
tems. London Hydro's old custom-built system could barely
keep up with current usage. The company decided to shop
around for a new system that could not only accommodate
smart metering but could tie that data in with core business
systems. Mridula Sharma, London Hydro's director of infor-
mation services, stated that LH was in need of “a more
integratable solution that was scalable and flexible.” The
company needed to “prepare for future growth as well as
enhance business process workflow,” Sharma said.
Discussion Questions
1.
Why did London Hydro initiate its smart-metering infor-
mation system development project?
2.
Who provided information for the systems analysis report
for the new system?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
What benefits did London Hydro enjoy by purchasing
an off-the-shelf system and outsourcing the implemen-
tation?
2.
Who benefits from Ontario's mandate and how? What is
the cost of those benefits?
SOURCES: Smith, Briony, “London Hydro prepares for smart meters,” IT
World Canada, August 21, 2007,
www.itworldcanada.com/a/Enterprise-Busi-
Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure Web site,
www.energy.gov.on.ca/
index.cfm?fuseaction=electricity.smartmeters, a
ccessed July 13, 2008; Lon-
don Hydro's Web site,
www.londonhydro.com/lh_website/index.jsp;
accessed
July 13, 2008.
For 351 days a year, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet
Club is a quiet private tennis club set in a sleepy suburb of
London. For 14 days each year, half a million tennis enthusi-
asts arrive at the club from around the world to witness the
