The Energy Market Authority (EMA), national water agency Public Utilities Board (PUB), and Singapore Power will issue a Call for Proposals (CFP) to develop technical solutions for a smart metering trial, which is aimed at enabling electricity, gas and water meters to be read remotely, and providing more timely usage data to consumers to help them better manage their utility consumption.
Currently, most of the electricity meters in Singapore are cumulative meters. They are read once every two months manually, together with gas and water meters.
The CFP invites interested parties to develop and trial smart solutions for remotely reading all three meters reliably and cost-effectively.
The trial also includes the development of a mobile application to provide consumers with timely and useful information on their electricity, water and gas consumption via their personal mobile devices such as handphones and tablets.
This is said to enhance consumers’ awareness of their consumption patterns.
At the launch of the CFP, Chief Executive of EMA, Mr Ng Wai Choong, noted that “Through the provision of more timely usage information, we hope to empower consumers to better manage their energy and water consumption, and reduce their utility bills. This builds on our recent effort to improve the design of utilities bill to enable consumers to compare their utility usage with those in their neighbourhood.”
Mr Michael Toh, PUB Director for Water Supply Network, said, “We look forward to the outcome of this pioneering trial which aims to develop a common platform to enable automated meter reading for electricity, gas and water in Singapore. Such technologies will enable us to give our customers timely consumption data and alerts to better monitor their usage and more importantly, remind them to conserve and use water wisely.”
“This trial builds on the smart electricity metering system we are deploying island-wide, to help consumers save energy and cost. The next-generation solutions will complement initiatives like the redesigned utilities bill and our public education programmes to encourage everyone to make energy-saving a way of life,” added Singapore Power’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Wong Kim Yin.
Interested parties are invited to submit their proposals for the trial before 12 midnight on 1 February 2017. Details will be available at SPRING’s website (www.ipi-singapore.org/technology-needs) on 2 November 2016. Funding will be supported by SPRING’s Capability Development Grant if the participating companies are eligible.
