Innovative Portable Device able to Communicate via Power Line Communication with Enel’s Smart Meters

Challenge

The Current Situation

ENEL Grids is committed to provide the best quality of service in energy distribution to its final customers. To do this, technicians perform periodic on field checks on the grid to verify the proper operation of the smart meters that measure the amount of energy consumed by residential or commercial customers. These activities are performed on the field and require real time connection to the smart meter to verify that the parameters measured by the smart meter are correct and correspond to the values verified with alternative and measuring equipment. Unfortunately, some smart meters are not physically accessible to the technicians. In Spain alone, it is estimated that about 2 million residential smart meters are installed inside the home, specifically in historical areas of the city. They can be read remotely for billing purposes but not for on field activities.    

To better describe the technicalities of the sought solution, you can find all the requirements in the document attached[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD]: we kindly ask you to download it, read it carefully and take it into consideration to propose your solution. 

ENEL Grids is looking for a portable device that will be carried by field technicians in order to connect and verify from a distance to the smart meter being verified. The connection is done by clamping to the physical electric wires that connect to the meter and then using a powerline protocol to interact and communicate with it, specifically the version used by ENEL in Spain called “Meters and More”. 

The device will have a display for basic configuration, connection procedure, diagnostics, information display and basic feedback to the technician. At the same time, the device will have a Bluetooth connection to enable meter access from a smart phone and provide advanced functionality. 

Applicants are being accepted globally. But the testing phase will be conducted within Europe.

The Solution:

Solution Must Haves:

MAIN TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY download the attached document for all the details. 

Real time clock compliant with the IEC 62054-21 [30] requirements.  
Reliability in terms of Expected lifetime and Failure rate that must consider all the conditions described in this document 
Environmental (temperature and humidity) 
Electrical measurements requirements regarding Voltage and Current.  
Terminals and interfaces. 

• USB Type-C for communication and charging. 
• Bluetooth 5.0 or higher, with a range of 20 meters without obstacles. 
• Signaling LEDs for power, current direction, and Bluetooth status. 
• Powered by a rechargeable battery for at least 12 hours of activity. 

Other physical requirements about Rubber protection, Rogowski coils and removable cables, specific dimensions, fastening system, IP54 (in accordance to EN 60529). 

Find also in the attachment file the required specifications also about Conformity of materials, ⁠Serial Number, Two-dimensional code, Model, Other markings, Cyber security, Other physical requirements. 

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY download the attached document for all the details.

Meter reading through PLC Communication- the device must be able to communicate by PLC communication (Meters&More) to a specific meter by means of the OPA functionality. 

The Bluetooth connection of the device will be restricted to the use of the smartphone application designed for reading instant parameters of the meter. The passwords for reading these smart meter data will eventually be obtained through the application that will access the DSO system. The design of the application to access the DSO system is outside of this project, a demo smartphone application that demonstrate this functionality will be sufficient. 

Electrical measurements

• The device must be able to measure and store specific parameters as describe in the attachment.  
• Additionally, it must implement specific registers and functionalities as described in the attached document.  

Solutions Nice to Haves

• Equipped with single-phase disconnectors.
• Equipped with supercapacitors or batteries to absorb transient fluctuations of active power.
• Integrable in Enel’s street box ( https://www.e-distribuzione.it/archivio-news/2023/11/le-cassette-stradali-hanno-un-nuovo-look.html ): maximum dimensions 500 (Width)x500 (Height)x200 (Depth) mm 

Deliverables

Proposals shall be submitted to the platform openinnovability.com in a single stage including the following information in English:

• Solution name/title and overview 
• Solution detailed description (e.g., Technical, Functional, Cybersecurity and Operational specifications, etc.) 
• Solution design (e.g. Hardware, Software, Interfaces and electronic scheme, etc.)  
• Development roadmap to market, indicating the estimated time for design, certification and prototypes  
• Budget estimation for proposal development (a prototype)  
• An estimation of the final price of the solution 

• Supporting documentation: any additional supporting materials, diagrams, simulations, or research that help in understanding and evaluating the proposed solution could be uploaded 

The chosen proposal(s) will have the opportunity to develop a prototype to then be tested by Enel, in accordance with the terms and conditions better described in the REGULATION ATTACHED. Once these results have been reviewed, there may be an opportunity to launch the product onto the market.  

FOR FULL REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATION FOR THE SOLUTION, PLEASE READ THE SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT ATTACHED.

Workshop

SAVE THE DATE! Join us for the workshop dedicated to this challenge that will take place on November 26 2024, 3PM CET [CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CALENDAR]

You will have the chance to hear from the Challenge Owner about the challenge details and to ask questions directly to the Enel Green Power team: don’t miss the opportunity to perfect your solution and meet the solution requirements. 

What Happens Next?

After the Challenge deadline, the Challenge Owner will complete the review process and decide with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All participants who submit a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions. However, no detailed evaluation of individual submissions will be provided. 

The Challenge Owner will evaluate the proposal considering the features and characteristics required for the Solution, focusing the following criteria: 

• The overall scientific and technical feasibility of the proposed solution; 
• Economic potential of concept (e.g., Total Cost of Ownership); 
• Business potential for the Challenge Owner; 
• Novelty and not obviousness; 
• Potential for proprietary position (i.e., whether the the technology is novel or protectable); 
• User’s capabilities and related experience; 
• Realism of the proposed solution; 
• The maturity level of the proposal. 

If the reward includes the opportunity to collaborate with Enel, once one or more suitable solutions have been identified, Enel will reserve the right to start a collaboration, by way of example, on all or part of the following activities: 

• Test execution; 
• Supply of prototypes (if the solution includes equipment); 
• Installation and site tests; 
• Follow-up and monitoring of the proposed idea behavior. 

At the end of the assessment, you will receive feedback. 

In the event of success, an Enel contact person will get in touch with you to discuss the next steps. 

The final award for this Challenge is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of the pre-awarding process, including acceptance of the Challenge Regulations that is the regulation for this Challenge. 

The pre-awarding process includes obtaining some documents from the participants such as Counterparty Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ) and the signed Challenge Regulations.