Madrileña Red de Gas is preparing the deployment of smart gas meters with AWS IoT Core

Choosing smart meters is based on the use of common communication standards. AWS-supported MRG has analyzed the use of smart meters from different suppliers to ensure platform flexibility, seeking not only to comply with legal requirements, but also to guarantee operational efficiency and long-term sustainability. “We will take advantage of a regulatory need to invest in a system that improves our operations, as well as the management of gas consumption by the customer,” said Pablo Cecilio, Head of IoT and Cybersecurity at MRG.

From an operational point of view, the analytics of this new concept shows a noticeable improvement in efficiency, characterized by the automation of meter readings, reducing the required manual work. This improvement will not make the company's operation more flexible and dynamic, but it will also reduce the operating costs associated with manual readings.

“Safety and efficiency are our maxims. With AWS technology, we have not only been able to demonstrate that the smart meter network is feasible, but we have also seen how it can improve the quality of the service we provide to our users.” - Glen Lancastle, CIO, Madrileña Red de Gas.

Additionally, the company’s plan is to reduce the carbon footprint by minimizing the need for vehicles and trips to carry out manual readings throughout the Community of Madrid, reflecting the company's commitment to sustainable practices and the protection of the environment.

For customers, the benefits are also significant. The introduction of smart metering will offer greater accuracy in billing, eliminating estimates and inaccuracies that can arise from manual readings. Customers will have real-time access to their consumption, allowing them to monitor their gas use and make informed decisions to optimize their consumption patterns. This transparency and control, innovative in the gas distribution sector, represent an important advance in customer service while promoting more responsible consumption.

The system implemented by MRG in collaboration with system integrator Keepler Data Tech, is based on a network of smart meters that generate automated readings at regular intervals. The data collected at each interval is sent to the cloud through low-power and long-range networks (LPWAN), which guarantees efficient and secure transmission thanks to the use of security protocols, encryption and digital certificates in communication between devices and the cloud. The concept developed initially opts for the public LoRaWAN network, operated by Everynet and natively integrated into the AWS IoT Core service. The main benefits offered by this technology include cost efficiency and energy consumption, which are key to meeting regulated autonomy and price requirements.

Every time any of the authorized devices launches a data reading to the cloud, AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN is responsible for its collection and acts as an LNS (LoRaWAN Network Server), decrypting the message and forwarding it to Amazon Data Firehose, which is responsible for the reliable data storage in the AWS cloud through Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3).

As data can be collected from the source in multiple formats, they must be processed and translated into a standard structure, thus preparing them for management and facilitating their subsequent analytics and treatment. This transformation is carried out using AWS Glue, which allows the payload of each message to be decoded from a specific binary format to a columnar format under a standardized Common Data Model.

Once the data has been processed and standardized, access to AWS query and analytics services is enabled. These allow not only to collect data related to consumption and to detect possible anomalies in the meter network, but also to provide them with additional information. Finally, information visualization is carried out through tools such as Amazon QuickSight, allowing the company and, eventually, its customers new alternatives data use, such as access to detailed reports on consumption, the creation of future demand forecasts, the detection of anomalies using machine learning or having services in real time through the use of generative Artificial Intelligence.

“Working with MRG on this project has been an opportunity to demonstrate how the proper deployment of AI and IoT can transform entire industries, bringing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction to unprecedented levels.” – Juan María Aramburu, CEO, Keepler Data Tech.

This approach will not only improve operational efficiency and billing accuracy, but it also opens up new avenues for innovation and continuous improvement of customer service, marking a milestone in the digital transformation in the energy sector.