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Wireless Logic
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Case Study

Enerclic: Integral solutions for smart electricity metering

Wireless Logic's connectivity and network infrastructure solutions allow Enerclic to design IP Meter. This device allows electricity metering managers to replace obsolete GSM modems and comply with the new Red Eléctrica de España regulations.

About Enerclic

Enerclic is a manufacturer and integrator of smart metering equipment, with a holistic approach to the value chain: from manufacturing to monitoring through its web platform. It is one of the leading Spanish companies in the area of energy monitoring, with experience in remote metering of electricity consumption since 2010, and monitors more than 10,000 meters with daily readings.

Unlike other companies specialised in monitoring, Enerclic's main value is that it covers both hardware manufacturing and software development. The mobile application facilitates the configuration of the SIM card, as well as the router/gateway and meter. The devices are designed for an optimal installation experience, providing the operator with a quick and easy to connect solution.

 
541x475-meter installation

Challenge

Most remote metering equipment relies on CSD (Circuit Switched Data), a GSM-based technology now being phased out in Spain. In response, Red Eléctrica de España (REE) issued a new regulation requiring remote meter readings at border and cogeneration points to be carried out via IP communication, which started in October 2023.

Although this applies to only a fraction of the country’s total meters, it represents a significant and sensitive change, particularly given the specific requirements of the legislation.

 

REE requires equipment to deliver readings through SIMEL’s public IP (the main concentrator of electrical measurements), with access provided via fixed IP or DNS/DDNS, without the use of VPN tunnels. This poses a challenge for Enerclic in terms of cost, scale and cybersecurity of its communications.

The leap from a 2G to a 4G-based solution, in addition to bringing systems into compliance, offers other added benefits. LTE communications offer better data in terms of speed and latency in the transmission of measurement data. In addition, the constant connection makes it possible to switch from hourly or quarter-hourly curve to a measurement every minute.

 
 

Solution

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It has been necessary to design a specific network solution, based on Conexa SIM cards, to comply with REE regulations and facilitate the migration of meter reading to IP communication. First, each device is assigned a private IP within Wireless Logic's private network, and the customer and Red Eléctrica are provided with the public IP of the gateway to be used to access the readings. A NAT/PAT translation protocol is used to associate each private IP with an access port within the public IP. This approach allows whitelisted source IPs to access meter data directly, without requiring VPN tunnels.

 

Result

Enerclic has developed IP Meter, a device designed to work with 4G/LTE connectivity. The development involved collaboration with Wireless Logic to test the correct operation of communications via the NAT/PAT solution. This new equipment allows border measurement managers to comply with the regulation and benefits from the improved latency and speed of the 4G network.

The IP Meter also opens the door to an increase in the number of variables to be monitored. Up to thirty different parameters related to electricity consumption and power can be visualised in the mobile application. Enerclic, in collaboration with Wireless Logic, has designed a device that aspires to become a benchmark in electrical telemetry.

This commitment is not only for today, but also for the future. The IP Meter and Wireless Logic’s solution not only ensure compliance with current regulations; they also provide a key foundation for upgrading more than 100,000 smart meters in Spain that will soon need to migrate to IP-based communications.

Enerclic-NPAT-IP-publica

"The technological solution developed by the experts at Wireless Logic has allowed us to build a satisfactory application for the new electrical metering requirements in a very short time."

Jose Luis Vilches
Enerclic

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