In November 2016, EMA, national water agency PUB and SP Group launched a Call for Proposal (CFP) to develop and test-bed technical solutions to integrate remote meter reading for all utilities (i.e. electricity, town gas and water).
More than 20 proposals presenting a variety of solutions were received. These proposals were evaluated with other agencies including Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and Housing Development Board (HDB). Four companies have been selected to further develop and test-bed their solutions with ZH Technologies International Pte Ltd being one of the selected.
Over the next six months, the selected companies will need to demonstrate that their proposed solutions are able to accurately and reliably read utility meters in a laboratory environment. The proposed solutions must be able to:
Directly measure utility consumption digitally, or convert analogue meter readings on water and town gas meters into digital format. Interface with SP Group’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure (“AMI”), to transmit the meter reading data in the required format, frequency and level of security.
Solutions which are proven to be feasible in the laboratory environment will be test-bedded at a selected housing estate in the second half of 2018. Details of the testbed will be provided at a later date.
The Call For Proposal (CFP) also sought ideas regarding mobile application design that will enable consumers to better manage their utility consumption. Among 30 participants whom participated and submitted prototypes with design features such as usage notifications, gamification, direct billing and payment through a mobile application. SP Group will incorporate innovative ideas gathered when developing the mobile application for the test-bed.
Source : EMA