Prepaid Energy Meter using Smart Cards

OverviewEfficient scheme of electricity billingFunctionalityBeneficial to consumers, power plant, revenue, power sector reforms

General block diagram

The metering systemUtilities and revenue systemPresent electricity billing system

Advantages and disadvantagesPresent prepayment metering system

Advantages and disadvantages Market scopes

Prepayment metering systemImproved operational efficienciesReduced financial risksBetter customer serviceMarket drives:

Power sector reforms, Increasing non-technical reforms, opportunities in markets Market restraints:

Customer behavior, Initial investment, rapid tech changes, uncertainty over success

Recent initiatives and plansSouth Africa and EnglandMalaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Singapore, IranWest Bengal SundrebansTata power in Delhi and JamshedpurMumbai BEST serviceUS patents released

Present prepayment systemDifficult to install and costlyNo communication back to utilityNo knowledge on consumption and tampering info on utility

Smart cardsSame size as a standard credit cardA microchip embedded in a plastic card to store informationLatest silicon technology, does not require use of batteriesThe chip can be programmed to carry out specific functions

Advantages & applications of smart cardsConvenience, portability, capacity, durability, security and ability to check forgery

ID card, log card, garage card, hotel key card, health care, vehicle id, banking, prepayment electricity

The proposed systemUse of prepayment systemSmart card usageCommunication with utility system3-tier implementationSupply management with added security

AdvantagesReducing reading expensesBad debt collectionA/c transfer expenses & credit debt expensesGreater awareness on consumers consumption habitsImproved cash flow management

Large scale implementationUser has a ID cardGives money to ATM and gets the smart card creditedCustomer terminal and service terminal manage electric supply and comm. With serviceUtility services update with the data and consumer behavior

Hardware RequirementsAT89S51 CLCD Lampex 162 SLE4442 smart card reader/writer, MAX 232EEPROM AT24C256Relay and Power supplyOptocoupler cosmo 2010 4N35Meter and loadDB9 connector, resistors, capacitors and sip resistors

Software requirementsKeil C compiler Version 3FlashOrcad

Prepayment energy meter using smart card8051 microcontrollerPower supplyLCDEEPROMSmart card Reader/writerEnergy meterRelayLoadOptocouplerMC

Schematic diagramPort 1 is connected LCDPort 3 is connected to EEPROMPort 0 to relaySmart card module is connected via DB9 connector and max232 to microcontrollerMeter is connected to load and optocoupler and one end of load to relay.

WorkingThe consumer inserts the pre-paid card in the energy meterThe value in the card is transferred to the meter and load is ONThe meter keeps track of the number of units consumed as per the slab rate and updates it to the controller via cosmo 2010When the value in the card comes to electricity supply is cut off

ConclusionA better solution for utility management and beneficial to consumers, power reforms and market.A prototype for customer terminal is successfully constructed