Assessment of technical viability of using power line for automatic meter reading: case study Kariakoo substation

This dissertation aimed to establish the technical viability of the existing TANESCO’s low-voltage distribution network as a communication channel for its automatic meter reading system, through case study. The area to be used for case study is the area supplied power by the KA1-1 lkV Feeder from the Kariakoo Substation, Dar es Salaam - Tanzania. The methodology used is to draw and dimension the network under study, to specify the type of customers’ loads at its terminal points, modelling the channel, simulating the im¬pulse response of the network, and studying the results at the terminal loads both in time- domain and frequency-domain. Then a digital modulation scheme, orthogonal frequency division modulation (OFDM) was applied, and lastly, Reed Solomon (RS) codes were applied to thwart the effects of noise and give the best Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and lowest BER. From simulation results it is concluded that TANESCO’s existing low voltage distribution network is technically viable as a communication channel for its automated meter reading (AMR) System whereby PLC can be used down line from the distribution transformer to the customer, and that at the transformer be located a concentrator which will link the PLC Network with the central AMR Servers via wireless communication such as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, etc. The use of broadband over power line (BPLC) in the low voltage network will cut down communication costs significantly and create a financial relief that can be used for fund¬ing further roll-out of the AMR technology or other investments in the Company.