Aclara, a Missouri-based supplier of smart infrastructure to electric, gas and water utilities, has announced the first compliant and certified Smets 2 (Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specifications 2) polyphase electricity meter for the UK.
 
The meter, which comes in three variants, allows UK utilities to automate the management of their meter assets at a lower cost of ownership.
 
The release of the SGM1430 polyphase smart electricity meters continues Aclara’s 100-year tradition of providing reliable and robust metering to utility companies and their customers. The smart meter can help UK utilities cater to a full range of large residential and small business client configurations, allowing them to optimise and manage their energy usage.
 
The variants of the meter line are:

• SGM1431B: For installation in larger residential premises with high energy usage and businesses such as small retail shops.
• SGM1432B: For installation in larger residential premises and businesses such as shops with high energy usage; it includes a single auxiliary load control for applications that require automatic heating control.
• SGM1433B: Also for installation in larger residential premises and businesses such as shops with high energy usage, this meter has two auxiliary load control outputs for automatic night storage heating control and control of water heating.

The addition of the polyphase line of electricity meters is an integral part of the UK’s dual-fuel smart metering plan. The full range of Aclara electricity meters, under a common platform, allows for optimised installation, and easier testing, maintenance and firmware updates.

The first polyphase Smets 2 smart meter, an Aclara SGM1433B, was installed recently at a large residential property in Gloucestershire, England, by Smart Metering Systems (SMS) for a customer of Good Energy. Large residential and small business customers, which require polyphase meters because of the higher amount of electricity they draw, previously could not take advantage of smart meters, which automatically log energy consumption to facilitate accurate billing. Smart meters are also an essential enabler of energy efficiency and green technologies – such as electric vehicles – that encourage flexible demand and help reduce carbon emissions and costs.

“Aclara today supplies most of the tier-one energy retail suppliers in the United Kingdom, including SSE Business Energy, now part of Ovo Energy, as well as leading meter asset providers such as SMS and National Grid,” said Jason Subirana, vice president at Aclara. “The introduction of our new polyphase variant meter cements Aclara’s leadership in providing a complete suite of Smets 2 electricity smart meter variants that meet UK regulatory metering requirements.”

Aclara’s smart meters have long been at the forefront of smart metering deployment programmes in the UK and other parts of the world. Its dual-energy system consists of its SGM1400 Smets 2 electricity meters, designed for large-scale Smets 2 deployments, as well as Smets 2 gas meters supplied through a strategic alliance with Flondian.

All Aclara meters are Commercial Product Assurance (CPA) certified by the UK National Cyber Security Centre. CPA certification is a requirement for deploying Smets 2 meters in the UK’s national smart metering implementation programme.

Aclara, part of the Hubbell Power Systems family of brands, supplies smart infrastructure and services to more than 1000 water, gas and electric utilities globally. Hubbell Power Systems has its headquarters in Columbia, South Carolina.