AMI Systems use smart meters in which the following advance functionality is available within the meters:
• Net metering which is the ability to measure the energy used by the consumer as well as measure energy delivered by the consumer back to the utility provider.
• Remote Connect / Disconnect which is the ability to shut off and re-establish service to the consumer.
• Two way communications i.e. ability to both read the meters as well as send information back to the meters including programming updates.
• Microprocessor based control which controls the operation of the meters and its communication.
• Time Stamp of Usage whereby the utility provider personnel can know the actual time when the meter was read.
• The ability to support Time of Use (TOU) whereby different Tariff Rates could be applied for energy consumption at different times periods of the day.