The Benefits Of Automated Meter Reading Billing Software

By Nancy Gardner


This is a technology that is widely used by power suppliers, water suppliers and gas suppliers to manage their power and water consumption and also help them to determine their production levels or optimal production levels. They involve automated data collection, reading status gauge and diagnostic of meters from these automated gadgets. The data collected has to be sent back to a central station for editing, trouble shooting and billing. The technology has enable the user to save on cost since they no longer have to travel to individual locations to be able to get the reading. Automated meter reading billing software is linked to database and it constantly updates the master file.

There many electronic devices that are used to collect and transmit data to a central computer. The first one is handheld electronic device which has an inbuilt computer with a transceiver to gather meter reading. This can be called walk by because the reader has to physically walk to gauge location as they pass through or follow their route.

Another type of indicator reader is mobile mostly known as drive by. This type of gauge is attached to motor vehicles. This indicator reader directs the car while the installed gauge reading device collects the reading automatically. Satellite based transmitters can be fixed next to already existing meters.

Handheld gauge reading device is a relatively small computer and it can also be equipment that that are utilized by meters to keep track of indicator reading from meters. The readings after they are recorded by this small computer they are transmitted electronically into a central database. Then some installed software enables the user to carry out some formatting and editing on the transmitted data.

One type of handheld device is keypad entry where readers of these gauge read them manually and key in their readings in a handheld device. The reader then has to go back to the station and give the device to a clerk who downloads the device recorded data into electronic software for billing. This method is cost effective if applied in smaller cities where there are no many users to allow them benefit from time saving advantage of this device.

Automated reader has converted physical, labor intensive commercial, residential and industrial collection of data to a simple exercise with little physical movement by use of computerized devices to collect data with minimal supervision. This has cut down expense associated with meter maintenance, eliminated errors in the system and the chances of malicious data manipulation, fastened data transmission and enable accurate information to be relayed to customers.

Some companies dealing in software have the capacity to read energy meter for purposes of management and billing. This software performs functions such as energy management and billing, configuring energy meters and enables web access.

This system removes tedious and long procedures for of collecting and sending data to main office for processing. This consolidates the whole process, maximize a firm return on investment, and facilitate division of labor in the firm and to quickly and easily come up with routes through interaction with already existing customer information and systems for billing.

This is not to mean that it does not support a single fixed rate for individual users. Demand billing and time billing are not handled by this program. Automated billing software can perform data logging as well and it advisable for energy providers to consider using them.




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