An IoT Design Approach to Residential Energy Metering, Billing and Protection

The fairness of electricity services lies in the provider being able to deliver the expected quality power, and recover the returns on investment. Energy theft, metering lapses, billing errors, and cumbersome payment procedures constitute the bulk of the non-technical power losses and contribute majorly to the incapacity of the electricity vendors to run a profitable business, and serve the customers effectively. A real-time approach has been identified as the innovative need at resolving the enumerated issues within the electricity value chain. This study is leveraging on the Internet of Things (IoT) technology to propose an extended modelled system capable of providing real-time data management, residential power system control, interactive platform for the vendors and consumers. The energy billing was modelled and developed from resourceful components. A website was developed with user-friendly interface. The unique features of the system design are the possibility of customers to load their electricity credit online, and the supplier being able to lock or disconnect any defaulting customer remotely.