Electronic Measurement Collection: A New Trend in the Development of the Metering Industry
Power measurement and collection are two closely interconnected and complementary aspects of the power system, forming an essential foundation for the operation and management of the power grid. They span the entire industrial chain of power production, trading, and grid operation, becoming fundamental conditions for the high-quality operation and management of the grid.
Massive energy measurement equipment has become a crucial infrastructure supporting social welfare and the national energy strategy transformation. Electric meters are a typical representative of energy measurement equipment, being the most numerous and widely distributed, and serving as the core instrument in energy measurement activities. The development of electric meters has been a continuous process of innovation, evolving from the initial electromagnetic induction principle to the later applications of motors, electrostatic couplers, and electronic technology, resulting in more diverse functionalities and continuously improving accuracy, reliability, and intelligence.
According to the “Blue Book on the Development of New Power Systems” released by the National Energy Administration, by 2030, renewable energy will become the main contributor to the increase in electricity generation, accounting for over 20% of total generation. The new power system is an important component of a soft and hard system centered on renewable and clean energy. As the construction of the new power system accelerates, power measurement equipment faces higher demands in terms of measurement targets and sensing capabilities.
The measurement targets of power measurement and collection equipment are becoming more extensive. Building on traditional electric energy measurement, power measurement is further extending into “carbon” measurement. The innovative application of electric-carbon integrated measurement instruments supports the accurate measurement of carbon emissions throughout the entire power system. According to data from Qichacha, the power industry has become the largest carbon-emitting sector in China, accounting for over 40% of the country’s total carbon emissions. Therefore, how to conduct power carbon emission measurement will become a key focus, and precise and comprehensive methods for measuring power carbon emissions are the technical foundation for achieving low-carbon development in the new power system.
Traditional methods for calculating power carbon emissions have failed to reflect the differences in electricity production across time and regions. However, the application of new electric-carbon meters has made carbon emission measurement more precise, real-time, and intelligent. Recently, both the State Grid and the Southern Power Grid have launched pilot applications of electric-carbon integrated measurement instruments, which calculate and provide real-time data on the carbon emissions associated with electricity consumption, helping enterprises better understand their carbon footprint and optimize their electricity usage in line with carbon neutrality goals. In the future, electric-carbon meters on the generation side, grid side, and customer side will gradually become widespread, enabling accurate measurement and real-time tracking of carbon emissions across the entire chain of the new power system, fully meeting the measurement needs of renewable energy.
The sensing capabilities of power measurement and collection equipment continue to enhance, with advanced measurement and collection devices such as high-speed HPLC, IoT electric meters, energy storage access terminals, charging pile terminals, and non-intrusive measurement devices emerging. The intelligence, automation, and precision of measurement equipment are further improved, supporting a richer array of comprehensive energy service application scenarios on the grid and customer sides.
As the construction of the new power system, characterized by “clean, low-carbon, safe, controllable, flexible, efficient, open, interactive, and intelligent” features, progresses, the requirements for refined measurement perception, real-time collection, and efficient processing across all links of the source-grid-load-storage system are becoming increasingly stringent. Additionally, the large-scale integration of new entities such as distributed photovoltaics, charging facilities, and user-side energy storage is driving a growing demand for bidirectional interaction between these new entities and the grid. The data collected is shifting from being primarily “electricity quantity” to encompassing “energy, environment, and all-encompassing data.” With the support of next-generation electric meters and high-speed communication modules, the capability for power energy collection is gradually evolving towards minute-level and device-level granularity.
Currently, some provinces have achieved full coverage of low-voltage areas with high-speed carriers. Supported by HPLC high-frequency collection, the collection frequency of electric meters has significantly increased from the traditional once a day to once every 15 minutes, greatly enhancing the user experience for real-time queries regarding electricity consumption or billing. It is foreseeable that by 2030, with the development of technology and customer demand, the data collection frequency of measurement equipment will widely transition from “scheduled single collection” to “real-time high-frequency” collection.