History of Advanced Metering System
The U.S. Coast Guard’s Advanced Metering System was a groundbreaking $8 million project funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Awarded in September 2010 and completed by October 2012, this initiative significantly enhanced energy monitoring and efficiency across Coast Guard facilities. The project involved the installation of over 2,900 advanced metering devices at more than 200 units nationwide, ensuring accurate tracking of utility usage and supporting long-term sustainability efforts.
These meters were strategically installed in buildings larger than 5,000 square feet and on cutter shore ties to monitor electricity, gas, and water consumption. The initiative was managed by the Civil Engineering Unit Providence in close collaboration with the Coast Guard Office of Energy Management, streamlining efforts to optimize energy use across the organization. This large-scale deployment continues to play a crucial role in improving operational efficiency and reducing environmental impact.
The Coast Guard’s Advanced Metering System provides real-time monitoring and trended data over selected periods, allowing for precise tracking of energy consumption. The system helps identify potential issues by generating alarm notifications when set parameters are exceeded, enabling proactive investigation and resolution. By analyzing usage patterns, it highlights buildings and campuses that could benefit from energy conservation measures, supporting informed decision-making for future efficiency projects. Additionally, the system plays a crucial role in tracking and validating energy savings, ensuring the effectiveness of conservation efforts as they are implemented.
Implementing the Advanced Metering System presented several challenges, particularly related to installation and infrastructure limitations. Because Coast Guard facilities are often small and lack in-house electricians, the installation and replacement of meters required commercial electricians, increasing costs. Additionally, many older facilities had outdated infrastructure, making it difficult to isolate utility usage at the building level. Metering utility-owned transformers proved complex due to multiple tenants and shared agreements, sometimes requiring reliance on revenue meter data instead. These factors highlighted the importance of strategic planning and adaptability when integrating new energy monitoring systems.
Another key lesson was the need for configuration control to ensure all Coast Guard units used compatible equipment that could be effectively supported within the enterprise Distributed Management System (DMS). The integration of metering equipment into the Coast Guard’s intranet required extensive security testing, as many commercial products are web-based and pose cybersecurity risks. Selecting a secure DMS solution that stored and managed data within the Coast Guard firewall not only improved security but also significantly reduced customization costs. These lessons emphasize the importance of standardization, security, and careful planning in implementing large-scale metering solutions across a diverse and complex infrastructure.