Arc Innovations
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Vector Metering started as a subsidiary of
Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...
. Launched in 2003, operating under the business name; Arc Innovations. It was established to develop and deploy electricity meters using advanced meter infrastructure. In 2014,
Vector Limited Vector Limited is a New Zealand energy company, which runs a portfolio of businesses delivering energy and communication services across Australasia and the Pacific. Its primary business is electricity distribution, along with distributing pi ...
was granted clearance to buy Arc Innovations from the Commerce Commission from
Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...
with the sale completed for an undisclosed price on 1 December 2014. As of 2022, & subject to commerce commission approval, Vector has sold 50% of Vector Metering to Queensland Investment Centre (QIC) for 1.7B. Arc Innovations was the first company to introduce
Smart Meters A smart meter is an electronic device that records information—such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor—and communicates the information to the consumer and electricity suppliers. Advanced meterin ...
in New Zealand, rolling out the country’s pilot Smart Meter program in Central
Hawkes Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...
in 2005. Arc Innovation’s smart meter network relies on a mix of
GPRS General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), also called 2.5G, is a mobile data standard on the 2G cellular communication network's Global System for Mobile Communications, global system for mobile communications (GSM). Networks and mobile devices wit ...
, RF
Mesh network A mesh network is a local area network topology in which the infrastructure nodes (i.e. bridges, switches, and other infrastructure devices) connect directly, dynamically and non-hierarchically to as many other nodes as possible and cooperate wit ...
and
satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
for the meter’s
two-way communication Two-way communication is a form of transmission in which both parties involved transmit information. Two-way communication has also been referred to as interpersonal communication. Common forms of two-way communication are: * Amateur radio, CB or ...
.


History

Following Arc Innovation’s launch in 2003 the company spent two years researching and developing smart meters. The introduction of this first generation of smart meters saw 6,000 meters installed in Central Hawkes Bay over 2005 and 2006. Following this, 125,000 smart meters were deployed to the wider
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
area. In 2009, approximately 70% of Christchurch homes were installed with smart meters, making it the largest smart metering network in
Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
at that time.


Christchurch earthquake

Following the two major
earthquakes An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they c ...
in September 2010 and February 2011, smart meters in Christchurch were able to be used to provide information to the city’s
distribution network Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electricity. Electricity is carried from the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and lower the transmission v ...
about power outages to individual homes. Christchurch’s smart meter
infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...
was also used to switch on hot water cylinders in several hundred homes following the February earthquake.}


References

{{Reflist, 30em Electric power companies of New Zealand