To meet PEA’s ambitious data delivery goals in rural Thailand, EDMI developed an innovative solution capable of connecting to 100,000 meters and downloading data within a 10-minute window—back in 2007. By collaborating closely with cellular providers and the customer, EDMI overcame significant infrastructure challenges to deliver reliable 15-minute interval data, every 15 minutes.
The Challenge and the Benefit
In 2007, Thailand’s PEA focused on delivering reliable power to its top 100,000 customers—key drivers of the nation’s industrial growth. Ensuring uninterrupted, high-quality supply was critical, but so was gaining visibility into usage patterns. This helped PEA maintain grid stability and monitor a vital revenue stream. With that in mind, PEA set out to find a solution that could deliver the following outcomes:
The EDMI Solution
To meet PEA’s goal of delivering 15-minute data every 15 minutes from 100,000 meters, EDMI faced major challenges in 2004 due to limited connectivity options. Traditional PSTN and early cellular networks were too slow and costly to scale. EDMI collaborated with local telecom providers to pioneer the use of GPRS, a new packet-switched technology, negotiating bandwidth guarantees and optimizing its own protocol (EDMI Command Line) for efficient, reliable data transmission. Using the Mk6 meter, GPRS, and MultiDrive software, EDMI delivered a secure, scalable solution that not only met performance targets but also enabled real-time alerts via SMS. Remarkably, this system still operates successfully two decades later.
Key Characteristics of the Solution
By engaging EDMI as an end-to-end solution provider, PEA achieved the tight integration needed between metering, communications, and software—enabling high-frequency data delivery across rural Thailand with confidence.
To enable 15-minute energy usage data every 15 minutes, PEA needed reliable, robust communications. EDMI's collaboration with local telcos was critical in enabling this outcome.
EDMI's Command Line protocol enabled efficient, secure and reliable communication between the meters and back-office to ensure the high frequency data delivery needed.
Through engaging EDMI as an end to end solution provider, PEA enabled the tight integration needed between the metering, communications and software to deliver a great outcome.
From Remote to Real-Time. EDMI Makes It Possible
EDMI’s first end-to-end solution for PEA set a new benchmark for smart metering in challenging environments. By combining its Mk6 meter, GPRS communications, and MultiDrive software, EDMI enabled reliable 15-minute data delivery at scale. Through close collaboration with local telcos and innovative use of meter scripting and SMS alerts, EDMI empowered PEA with real-time visibility and control—well ahead of its time.
