EnerNex is assisting Consumers Energy in the development of requirements and business cases, as well as, review and selection of AMI designs and technology solutions for meters, communication networks, meter data management systems and integration with the utility’s information and operation technology systems. The overall systems engineering approach being taken is based on the EPRI IntelliGrid Architecture guidelines. Specifically, EnerNex is using the use-case-based IntelliGrid methodology to ensure that all aspects of an AMI system -meters, communication infrastructure, and enterprise software — are evaluated in a rigorous manner that results in high quality, traceable and defendable requirements.

The IntelliGrid methodology develops use cases, or narratives, describing the expected near and long-term use of the AMI system. The teams divided each use case into multiple alternate scenarios and then developed a detailed sequence of steps for each scenario. Finally, the teams translated each step into one or more requirements to be placed on the components of the AMI system. The IntelliGrid methodology permitted teams to map these requirements to specific customer and business needs.

Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy, provides natural gas and electricity to nearly 6.5 million of Michigan’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. For more information on Consumers Energy, visit http://www.consumersenergy.com.