Smart meter box for large power consumers.

Abstract

By 2025, UMEME is required to reduce power losses to 12.78%, down from 17.3% as of 30th September 2020, translating to a USD 32 million saving to the company [1] . Focusing on large power customers; large industries, medium industries, and commercial consumers, their metering assets must be secured from power theft. Current securing types include the padlock and key system which has a history of power theft, affected by key duplication due to internal collusion, and the AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) prewired box system affected by delays due to the bureaucratic authorization process, and there is no real time monitoring of the meter box. The objective of this project was to research about current metering assets and how they are secured, design a secure box having a smart locking unit, and develop a web application for managing the smart meter box. This was realized by building a prototype of the smart meter box which consists of a circuit controlling an electronic lock. A web application where authorized users request for access to the meter box was built and connected to the circuit in the box via Firebase web server and Wi-Fi module. The key results include real time feedback on the status of the meter box whether open/closed, system authorized users requesting for access to the meter box via the web application, approval or denial of requests by the engineer via the web application, and an authorized user having ability to open the box by click of a button when their request has been approved. Further study on incorporation of a rechargeable battery powered locking circuit and remote wireless networks should be done to ensure the meter box has internet connectivity in remote locations and the system is more reliable. In conclusion, the meter box with an electronic lock managed on a web application system will minimize power theft and all this is possible on the existing network infrastructure and power distribution network.