Underwriters Laboratories (UL) presented papers on important new standards for testing and certifying smart electricity meters at the African Utility Week, held in Cape Town last month.

During the presentation, titled Accelerating Technology Adoption with Product Standards, UL electricity utility services GM Bill Colavecchio outlined the ways in which these new standards could be used to help accelerate the adoption of new metering technologies in Africa.

All types of electricity meters need to comply with mandatory testing standards defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), which have changed to meet the evolution of technology. The latest version of these standards, IEC62052-31, was introduced in 2015 and specifies product safety requirements for newly manufactured single-case metering equipment designed to measure and control electrical energy on 50 Hz or 60 Hz networks with a voltage of up to 600 V.

“Certain requirements are, however, outside of the scope of these standards, [leading] to the voluntary adoption of a set of testing standards developed by UL – UL2735 – in the US and Europe,” Colavecchio explained, adding that the changes addressed the previous design flaws in smart meters, which had been a major cause for concern to manufacturers and utilities.

He pointed out that trust was essential to the widespread adoption of new technologies. Manufacturers, utilities and end-users all need to know that the technology is safe and reliable, and performs as expected and is interoperable with other elements in the electricity supply ecosystem.

With dozens of vendors, hundreds of utilities and numerous regulatory bodies involved in the smart meter supply chain, the challenge for all stakeholders is to determine which technologies and applications they can trust, Colavecchio stated.

“The lack of common and reliable standards covering specific requirements and issues has been a barrier to entry all around the world, but specifically in Africa.”

Users throughout the supply chain require assurance that common, consensus-based standards are being used nationally and internationally to test and certify all smart meters, he said.

Colavecchio explained that UL 2735 addresses product safety, performance, reliability, cybersecurity, installation and other critical attributes of the product or system; as such, it played an important role in facilitating and accelerating the adoption of smart metering technology in Africa, as the standard ensured that all participants complied with the same standards and that the playing field was level.

“For manufacturers, testing and certifying their equipment in compliance with UL2735 offer customers a level of trust they haven’t had before. This helps to facilitate a speedy entry into the market for new products, which not only keeps the cost of sales down but also helps to secure market share,” Colavecchio concluded.