Analysis of the Integrated Application of Smart Meters and Meter Reading, Verification, and Billing Information Systems

Meter reading, verification, and billing are critical operations for power companies, and their efficiency directly impacts the company's sustainable development. In recent years, with the widespread adoption of intelligent technologies, smart meters have been promoted and applied in power companies, driving transformation in meter reading and billing operations. The integrated application of smart meters and meter reading, verification, and billing information systems has become a key development direction. Therefore, power companies need to deepen their understanding of smart meters and related information systems, and accelerate the integration of meters with information systems.

1. Application Principles of the Integrated Smart System for Meter Reading, Verification, and Billing

The core principle in applying the integrated smart system is to combine the strengths of traditional manual management with modern intelligent technologies, while minimizing human interference in the reading, verification, and billing process, thus accelerating the integration of smart meters with information systems. Although many regions in China have achieved system automation, to fully realize the value of the integrated smart system, power companies still need to refine details such as electricity billing policies, laying the foundation for further system development. Companies should first update traditional marketing service concepts, centering on customer needs, and advance the integrated smart system by continuously improving service levels. As living standards and marketing concepts improve, the automation level of meter reading, verification, and billing has significantly increased. While recording relevant data, staff must strengthen system maintenance, promptly identify and resolve issues, enhance daily inspections, and ensure the accuracy of electricity billing data. Additionally, the actual operation of meter boxes should be inspected in accordance with regulations on metering.

2. Functions and Applications of Smart Meters

2.1 Meter Reading Function

The meter reading function (see Figure 1) is the most fundamental capability of smart meters. Both traditional and smart meters have this function, but smart meters offer greater advantages. Traditional meter reading is complex, requiring dedicated personnel to manually record data on-site. The entire process—from reading, summarizing, data entry to calculation—relies heavily on manual labor. This method not only consumes significant human and material resources but is also highly susceptible to human error. Any oversight or mistake during the reading phase can directly affect subsequent data processing, potentially causing substantial financial losses to the power company

The widespread adoption of smart meters meets power companies' demand for remote meter reading, effectively reducing their operational burden in meter reading while significantly improving work efficiency. The basic principle of a smart meter involves using an A/D converter or metering chip to collect real-time current and voltage data from users. This data is then analyzed and processed by a CPU to accurately calculate active/reactive, peak/off-peak, or four-quadrant energy consumption. The resulting energy data is output via communication modules or a display unit, as illustrated in Figure 2. The remote reading capability of smart meters enables seamless integration with meter reading, verification, and billing information systems.

Remote reading is a hallmark advantage of smart meters, effectively minimizing human interference and delivering more accurate and detailed energy data. Furthermore, supported by smart meters, staff can directly calculate electricity bills by comparing historical data, eliminating the need for manual data verification. Currently, smart meters have been widely deployed in many regions and have gained broad public acceptance. With smart meters, residents can conveniently monitor real-time energy consumption and remaining balance, enabling better household energy management and timely top-ups or bill payments.

2.2 Electricity Billing Monitoring and Calculation

Billing monitoring and calculation are key functions of smart meters, enabling real-time monitoring and accounting of electricity consumption. With this function, power companies can continuously track meter status, effectively resolving discrepancies between actual usage and billing. Additionally, smart meters automatically calculate user electricity charges. After automatic collection of consumption data, the meter computes the bill based on usage, significantly reducing time spent on manual calculations. In billing settlement, the integration of smart meters with the meter reading, verification, and billing information system fully leverages its advantages, accurately calculating actual consumption and real-time charges in compliance with national policies and regulations.

Computer terminals are essential for billing monitoring and calculation. The primary advantage is high efficiency—billing for an entire prefecture-level city can typically be completed within minutes. Currently, many regions adopt a “smart meter + manual” review approach. Power companies divide their service areas into key and regular zones. For key zones, an initial manual calculation is performed, followed by system data comparison; for regular zones, only a sample is compared. If no errors are found, the system sends notifications via WeChat mini-programs or the user’s registered mobile number.

2.3 Prepaid Function

Prepaid service allows users to deposit funds into their electricity accounts in advance. In traditional power supply, users could not monitor remaining balance, often leading to disconnection when funds were depleted. With smart meters, users can view their remaining balance in real time. When the balance is low, users can prepay via offline methods, with payments directly loaded onto an IC card. Additionally, users can recharge their IC cards through WeChat, Alipay, or other online platforms.

The widespread adoption of computer and internet technologies has greatly accelerated the integration of smart meters with meter reading and billing systems. Most power companies have partnered with commercial banks and major online payment platforms, and online payment services are now available in most cities nationwide. Online payment eliminates time and space constraints, allowing users to pay bills anytime, anywhere. After linking with a smart meter, users can conveniently check consumption and remaining balance, and services such as cash collection and automatic deduction become feasible. Diversified payment methods not only enhance user convenience but also drive the transformation of meter reading, billing, and collection operations toward a user-centric, integrated service model.

3 Construction of the Integrated Smart System for Electricity Billing

3.1 System Technical Support

Many regions now use smart meters and smart terminals for meter reading, verification, and billing. Analysis of the integrated system reveals it primarily relies on mobile communication, GPS, and infrared meter reading technologies. Staff use PDA handheld terminals to obtain user data for re-reading and anomaly information. The system then assigns meter reading tasks via GPS. After completing readings, staff upload data to the company’s computer terminal, where the database automatically matches information, improving operational efficiency.
Additionally, the system requires technical support for verification and auditing. The intelligent audit system consists of three main modules: strong constraint, audit result fluctuation checking, and alerting. Key considerations during implementation include:

First, “strong constraint” conditions must be added to the calculation process, which is crucial for the constraint module. Power companies must also set parameters such as electricity rates and peak/off-peak pricing to ensure the system generates matching search criteria and enables clear decision-making. When data violates rules, the system automatically splits or rolls back the transaction, reissuing only after detailed system checks are passed.

Second, alert conditions matching real-world scenarios must be set to activate the alert module. Power theft often causes data anomalies. When the system detects such anomalies during comparison, it automatically sends alerts to staff along with detailed information, enabling timely investigation.
Finally, the system can provide visual prompts (e.g., color-coded backgrounds) for users with service changes, helping prevent operational errors.

3.2 Establishing a Matching Business Monitoring Platform

The business monitoring platform is supported by computer and big data technologies, enabling alignment of process data and workflow nodes to build a comprehensive monitoring system for meter reading and billing. The platform’s architecture includes:

The overall structure comprises a data management system, application management system, interface service system, file service system, and business support system. It integrates mobile communication, internet, and GPS technologies to comprehensively manage and monitor business operations such as grid-customer integration and meter reading, verification, and billing, significantly improving process handling, inter-departmental coordination, and business integration.
The application architecture consists of three layers: presentation, business, and data.

• The presentation layer handles data acquisition, exception handling, alarms, data reception, and feedback, essentially serving as a web front-end and mobile terminal visualization interface.

• The business layer meets data storage needs, managing work orders, on-site meter reading operations, GPS tracking, and data transmission/reporting.

• The data layer, while similar to the business layer in being data-centric, handles more detailed tasks such as data maintenance, work order sources, and system configuration.

• Security architecture is also critical. During system development and deployment, power companies must balance usability with reliability and security, minimizing risks of security incidents.

• The system typically features high MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) and low MTTR (Mean Time To Repair), providing robust fault tolerance. It can automatically detect fault locations, identify causes, and initiate recovery. In the event of network or system failures, the platform can also provide matching disaster recovery services.

4 Conclusion

In summary, during their development, power companies should recognize the value of integrating smart meters with meter reading, verification, and billing systems. Smart meters not only reduce staff workload but also ensure data accuracy, significantly improving operational efficiency. Therefore, power companies should actively transform their operational mindset, continuously enhance their service capabilities, and promote the evolution of meter reading and billing operations toward integration and intelligence.