Proceedings of the 2006 smart metering conference and expo

Ontario's smart metering program was launched as part of a general demand response management strategy to improve energy conservation in the province. Smart metering will help consumers to control their electricity bills through conservation and demand response, and will allow consumers to better manage their energy consumption and use it more effectively during cheaper, off-peak times of day. Smart metering systems measure how much electricity a customer uses on an hourly basis, and data is transferred daily to local electricity distributors. Toronto Hydro will have close to 200,000 smart meters installed by the end of 2006. By 2010, Toronto will be North America's largest urban centre to have made the full transition to smart metering technology across its entire base. This conference provided an update of Toronto Hydro's smart metering project, as well as details of their demand response program. Presentations were given by a variety of experts in information technology as well as electric power industry leaders North American demand and response metering strategies were reviewed, as well as various initiatives in advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). Security risks associated with smart metering environments were reviewed. An evaluation of the current regulatory environment was presented along with a discussion of smart metering standards and compatibility issues. New metering technologies were presented as well as various associated demand side management tools. Smart metering pilot programs and initiatives were discussed, and best practices in smart metering were evaluated. Twenty-nine presentations were given at the conference, 13 of which have been indexed separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs