The Structure Of A Meter

A customer's consumption is measured using a meter. What a meter measures and how it measures it can change over time. The following example illustrates a simple meter before and after a reconfiguration.

This example illustrates a simple meter before and after a reconfiguration. The system maintains how a meter looks over time so that it can reproduce bills using historical consumption. Every meter has a single meter record that contains information about the meter that doesn't change over time. A meter configuration record is required whenever something changes about what the meter measures. Every meter configuration contains one or more registers. Each register references the unit being measured and how the measured quantity is manipulated before it is billed.

The system maintains how a meter looks over time so that it can reproduce bills using historical consumption. Information about this meter is recorded in the following tables:

  • Every meter has a single meter record that contains information about the meter that doesn't change over time. For example, its meter number and manufacturer.
  • A meter configuration record is required whenever something changes about what the meter measures. The meter shown above has two configurations - the original and the one effective on 1-June-1999.
  • Every meter configuration contains one or more registers. Each register references the unit being measured and how the measured quantity is manipulated before it is billed.
Fastpath:

Information about how to set up meters is discussed in Maintaining Meters.