Chicago’s ComEd Smart Meter Infrastructure Shows ROI for Industrial Internet of Things

Smart companies are quickly capitalizing on the innovative potential of the Internet of Things, taking measures to integrate their services with useful new technologies.Take ComEd, for example — an Exelon company based in Illinois that provides electricity to 3.8 million people — which just launched a $2.6 billion initiative to update its meter-reading system using smart grid technology.Promising to install a “smart meter” for all of its customers by 2018, ComEd intends to implement a fully-synced system that will streamline meter data in the hopes of eventually reducing bills, minimizing energy loss, and eliminating the colossal amount of time, money and energy spent on manual meter reading.If successful, the initiative represents a win for all parties involved: ComEd does less work, and its customers gain valuable information that can help them understand and minimize their energy consumption.This extremely efficient new system — referred to as “advanced meter infrastructure” (AMI) — has already increased the percentage of meters read on Chicago’s south side from 60 to 98 percent, proving the initiative’s ability to minimize waste, costs, energy loss, and electricity theft.In addition to these obvious, traceable improvements, the smart grid system will also completely re-imagine ComEd’s infrastructure on a much larger scale — with more accurate data, ComEd can focus its attention on analytics and translate this data into even bigger and better improvements.Not only will ComEd be able to closely observe energy usage on a meter-by-meter basis, but they’ll also have the power to use the immediately-accessible data to isolate issues and resolve them more efficiently.This initiative is a stellar example of a company investing in Internet of Things-inspired innovations that guarantee colossal benefits for both them and their customers. And the benefits couldn’t be more apparent: the actual functionality of their services drastically improves, and both parties get to spend less money on a higher quality service.As is the case far more often than not, the investment is worth it, and the initiative will only further morph into a totally transparent, seamless system. ComEd’s willingness to dramatically change the way their business works epitomizes the necessarily entrepreneurial spirit of those getting involved in the Internet of Things.