ESkom Requirementx

Gatekeeper Evaluation Questions

Does all your equipment have type test certificates according to the minimum mandatory requirements of
NRS049:2008 (Clause 4.4) or can you provide proof that compliance to the certification requirements are
in progress?

Does your disconnection / connection function according to the requirements of NRS049:2008 (Clause
4.4.1)?

Does your supply capacity control (load limiting functionality) support the requirements of
NRS049:2008(Clause 4.4.1)?

Does your appliance control
device (load shedding) support the requirements according to NRS049:2008
(Clause 4.4.3.3)?

Does your customer interface unit (in house display) support the requirements of NRS049:2008 (Clause
4.5.2)?

Does your customer interface unit & appliance control
devices communicate through PLC or RF type
methods?

Does your smart meter's accuracy class for active energy meet Class 1 according to the SANS 62053
part 21 and is able to measure on a time
-
of
-
use basis as per the requirements of NRS049:2008 (Clause
4.1
0.1)?

Does your smart meters have supply connection terminals and dimensions as specified in NRS049:2008
(Clause 4.9.1.k)?

Is the communication module (e.g. GPRS modem) used for communication between the master station
and the concentrator or meters inte
rchangeable?

Is your company and your manufacturing process certified to ISO9001:2000?


Evaluation Question






What is the full name of your company?

What is the company's VAT registration number?

Provide details of the company's VAT
registration in terms of Act Number 89 of 199

State the company's registration number.

Describe the ownership of the company ((Pty)Ltd, CC, etc.)

Is the company part of a larger group?

Describe the type of organisation: is the company publicly or priva
tely owned?

If publicly owned, what is the distribution of shareholders? List the principle Shareholders and their
Shareholding.

List the name of the holding company.

Provide a full set of your company's latest annual reports.

The latest audited annual

financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Cash flow statements)
must be submitted with the proposal to do a financial analysis. Lack of financial information about your
business may result in your offer not being evaluated.



Describe
your mission statement, vision and corporate culture.

Provide an overview of your company/company profile. When was your company formed? Outline the history
of the company.

Does your company compile BEE reports?

Provide the following percentages for
BEE representations in your company:

Shareholding : %

Management : %

Directors : %

Employees : %

Indicate the number of employees that are black on the different levels of management within the company

Provide complete Employment Equity documents.

Do you have representation or delegated, duly authorised company representation in South Africa?

Provide detailed CV's of the resources whom are:

Guaranteed to be on the project

Possibly would be on the project


Locations of Offices of all parties involved:

International




Country, City of Head Office?




Number of other offices globally, and locations?




Regional office serving Southern Africa for product distribution, implementation
and support?

Local




City of Head Office?




Number of offices countrywide, and locations?



What has the company's investment in Research and Development (R&D) been over the past 5 years (both in
absolute terms, and as a percentage of
the turnover)? Specify which portion of this R&D is spent on your
Automated Metering solutions.

List all software products and services of the company. Allocate percentages of focus amongst the different
areas.

List all the partnerships and alliances
your company has with other companies and groups. Indicate the nature
of the partnership, and how the partnership is beneficial to your product, its support and its future strategic
direction.



Describe your support infrastructure. Distinguish between
Technical and Functional Support.

What is the location of your office that would support this project?

In which cities/towns do you have support offices (specify internationally or locally in South Africa)?

What are the available hours of your telephone

and/or email support?

What other means are available for obtaining support?

What is the guaranteed response time for support queries?

How are known problems and their resolutions logged?

Do you provide customer access to any bug or fault databases?

How would a customer tap into this
information?

Is there a list of Frequently Asked Questions and/or internet user forum available?

Describe your capability for providing on
-
site support.

Describe your capability for providing remote fault diagnosis an
d resolution.



Provide the full name of your solution as proposed to Eskom, as well as the current version and revision that is
in production, and the date this version was released into production.

What is your track record in AMI, energy and load
management implementations in big electricity utilities or
local companies with requirements similar to Eskom Distribution? List the names of these utilities and local
companies, the number of customers, and provide an overview of the implementations. (Exc
lude future
implementations/upgrades).

If applicable, list specific engagements related to Eskom.

Specify three current client engagements and supply the names, e
-
mails, physical addresses for these three
clients.

Describe the process we would have to

follow to have contact with any of your reference clients in South Africa
and/or abroad.



Describe the history and development of your product.

Do you have international experience of implementing Smart Meters?

How long has your current versions of
AMI and load management products been in the marketplace?

List and describe all the existing and planned releases of your product.

List the release, the dates for versions and revisions of the product, the description of changes from one
release to the n
ext, and indicate whether these were bug fixes, major functionality enhancements, etc.



Describe your company's vision for the future of your AMI and load management products.

What are your company’s primary goals for the evolution of your solution
over the next five years?

How do you decide on short
-
term enhancements for your package?

How do you ensure that your product is thoroughly tested, and that the majority of the problems are resolved
before release? Describe the approach that is followed t
o test your product.

How long are your testing and release cycles for new releases?

What is your strategy for supporting new emerging technologies?

List technical best practices supported by your product, and describe how these have been implemented
into
the solution.

Describe any architectural changes that are planned for future versions of the product, including release dates.



Show proof of your product's acceptance and ratings in the energy utility and Distribution type industries.

Use reports

produced by independent market intelligence firms such as Meta Group and Gartner Group to
support this.



General

Does the application supports single phase whole current meters?

Does the application supports three phase whole current meters?

Does
the application supports transformer fed three phase meters?



Does your solution meet minimum requirements:

A) Single phase meter records active energy (kWh)

B) Three phase meter records active energy (kWh)

Does your solution provide for the
following optional requirements

A.1) Single phase meter records active energy (kWh) and reactive energy (kvarh)

A.2) Three phase meter (whole current) records active energy (kWh) and reactive energy (kvarh) in all four
quadrants

A.3)Three phase meter
(transformer fed) records active energy (kWh) and reactive energy (kvarh) in all four
quadrants

B.1.1) Single phase meter supports credit and prepayment metering.

B.1.2) STS compliant for prepayment metering

B.2.1) Three phase meter (whole current) supports credit and prepayment metering.

B.2.2) STS compliant for prepayment metering

B.3.1) Three phase meter (transformer fed) supports credit and prepayment metering.

B.3.2) STS compliant for prepayment
metering

Accuracy class

Active energy Class 1 required to SANS 62053 part 21

A) Active energy Class 1 required to SANS 62053 part 21

B) Reactive energy Class 2 required to SANS 62053 part 23

Tariff implementation

A) At least three different time peri
ods / day supported by meter

B) At least two different weekend day switching schedules supported by meter

C) At least two different seasonal switching schedules supported by meter

A) TOU registers to be displayed through meter display

B) Displayed
sequence and values to be flexible

A) Prepayment meters: Credit shall be added by means of currency tokens

B) Prepayment meters: TOU tariffs catered through configurable factors in the meter

C) Prepayment meters: TOU tariffs catered through
configurable factors in the master station

D) Prepayment meters: Factors to be configurable through AMI master station

Load profile

Load profile data shall be stored on meter

Meters shall cater for at least 100 days over a 30 minute integration period

for one channel

Four quadrant meters shall cater for at least 60 days over a 30 minute integration period for six channels

Integration period shall be configurable (cater for at least 15, 30 & 60 min)

Requirements for non
-
interval data (Note: State in
each case if these are remotely retrievable)

A) Total energy

B) Energy per TOU period

C.1) Status alarms: Integrity of data

C.2) Status alarms: Low/failed battery

D.1) Event recording: Tamper detected (state what is supported)

D.2) Event recording:
Supply outage (state what is supported)

D.3) Event recording: Overvoltage (state what is supported i.e. configuration on window of recording, date and
time stamping, value to be recorded)

D.4) Event recording: Undervoltage (state what is supported)

D.5)

Event recording: Phases affected (state what is supported)

D.6) Event recording: Disconnect / connect

D.7.1) Event recording: Master station Supply capacity control

D.7.2) Event recording: Master station Appliance control override

D.7.3) Event
recording: Meter configuration change

A) At least three events shall automatically be recorded to master station (state which)

B) Equivalent of 100 days of events shall be locally stored on meter

A) Data and events shall be date and time stamped.

B) Re
solution at least 1minute

Real time clock

Meter's clock accuracy better than ± 2 seconds per day

A) Meter's internal clock shall not be derived from power frequency

B) Clock of meter shall be automatically synchronized via AMI master station

C) AMI
master station clock shall be synchronized to SAST (state how)

Meter's time shall be locally settable (state how)

Clock shall be maintained for at least 7 days under loss of power supply

Calibration test output as per SANS 62052
-
11

Interfaces

Meter
has port for local meter reading and configuration (state type)

Meter has port for remote meter reading and configuration (state type + state if port is shared for reading and
configuration
-

explain)

Meter memory

A) Configuration data shall be stored
in non
-
volatile memory

B) Metering data shall be stored in non
-
volatile memory

Battery accessibility and replacement

Replaceable batteries shall be fitted under a separate sealable cover

A) Minimum life of 10 years in operation

B) Minimum life of 3
years in the absence of supply to the meter

Manual meter reading: Scroll button available for reading

Self
-
registration of meters

A) Meters shall self register with master station after commissioning or after power downs

B) Meter's number/ID shall be a
cknowledged by master station

C) Meter shall be able to verify its status with the master station periodically

D) Configured meter's premise number / site ID shall be registered by master station

Meter Identity

A) Meter faceplate number shall be
according to SANS 474 (number and barcode format)

B) Meter's ID number is embedded in the firmware and accessible through to the master station

C) Meter firmware ID number shall be according to the number format in SANS 474

Can the meter communicate wit
h the MV90 system?

Meter specific requirements

Does all your equipment have type test certificates according to the minimum mandatory requirements of
NRS049:2008 (Clause 4.4) or can demonstrate proof that compliance to certification requirements is in
progress?

Does your Disconnection / Connection function according to the requirements of NRS049:2008[E1] (Clause
4.4.1[a2])?

Does your Supply Capacity Control (load limiting) support the requirements of NRS049:2008(Clause 4.4.1)?

Customer connect /
reconnect

Meter supports both local and remote disconnection / reconnection

All outgoing customer live circuits shall be disconnected under a disconnect operation. (State circuitry involved
to perform this function i.e. internal, relay contact and
external contactor etc.)

Master station supports 'on
-
demand' remote interrogation of meters to determine status of load switch

Meter shall provide clear local indication of the status (open/close) of the load switch

Meter shall record an event after
each operation (refer table 1)

Local switching shall only be possible by authorized technicians (explain functionality)

Appliance (load) control

Meter shall have the capability to connect and disconnect remote appliances

Control groupings:

A) The mast
er station shall provide for customer groupings for switching

B) Meter shall support the switching of at least two appliance control devices (state if separately or collectively)

Meter appliance control

Does your Appliance Control (load shedding)
support the requirements according to NRS049:2008 (Clause
4.4.3.3)?

A) The meter shall be remotely and locally configurable to operate the appliance control devices according to a
predefined and configurable switching sequence

B) The switching pattern sh
all be remotely configurable by the master station

C) Provision shall be made for dynamic appliance control (explain method)

The meter shall make provision for five sets of appliance connect and disconnect time periods per weekday and
five sets of time periods per weekend day.

A) Time settings to be locally configurable for each meter

B) Time settings to be remotely configura
ble for individual meters via the master station

C) Time settings to be remotely configurable for groups of meters via the master station

Turn
-
on functionality

A) Turn
-
on times shall be configurable after a switching period has expired (explain
configuration)

B) Turn
-
on times shall also include a randomized time lapse after the switching period has expired (explain
configuration)

On
-
demand appliance control commands

A) AMI system shall support on
-
demand control in groupings

B) AMI system sha
ll support on
-
demand individual meter control

On
-
demand control shall override pre
-
configured control

Meter shall fall back to own switching sequence after a settable period of time has lapsed from receiving the
override command. (Settings from 1
-

24
hours)

Appliance control device status

A) Appliance device shall signal its status to the meter

B) Master station shall be able to interrogate the status of the appliance control devices (explain functionality)

Indication of the status of appliance
control devices

A) Status shall be shown through the meters display

B) Status shall be shown through the customer interface unit

Supply capacity control (load limiting)

Cater for two settings:

A) Normal limit

B) On
-
demand limit

Settings
configurable:

A) Locally

B) Remotely via master station

Normal functionality

Caters for open operating settings as specified

Caters for enabling operating settings as specified

On
-
demand functionality

On
-
demand capacity control

A) AMI system shall support on
-
demand control in groupings

B) AMI system shall support on
-
demand individual meter control

Five sets of time periods / day supported by meter

A) Time settings to be locally configurable for each meter

B) Time settings
to be remotely configurable for individual meters via the master station

C) Time settings to be remotely configurable for groups of meters via the master station

On
-
demand control shall override pre
-
configured control

Supports individual activation

Caters for open operating settings as specified

Caters for enabling operating settings as specified

Caters for incrementing of open period as specified

Under frequency supply control

Does it caters for this functionality?

A) Control the appliance cont
rol devices

B) Control the supply capacity

Frequency limits configuration (explain)

Window periods for operation are catered for as specified

Reconnection of switched circuits conforms to specification

Random switch
-
on delay catered for second event

Meter specific requirements

A) Information secure to customers display

B) Information obtainable by other customer's display

Displayed information

Does your Customer Interface Unit (in house display) support the requirements of NRS049:2008 (Clause
4.5.2)?

A) Meter display (credit meters
-

active energy only)

Meter identification number (serial number)

Date and time

Off peak kWh (import)

Standard kWh (import)

Peak kWh (import)

Total kWh (import)

Current demand (kW)

Current tariff period

Appliance switching times

Status of Appliance switching (open / close)

Supply capacity limit (kW)

Meter event: Tamper detected

Meter event: Over & under voltage

Meter event: Disconnect

Meter event: Emergency appliance control

Meter event: Meter configuration change

B) Meter display (credit meters
-

four quadrant metering)

Meter identification number (serial number)

Date and time

Off peak kWh (import)

Standard kWh (import)

Peak kWh (import)

Total kWh (import)

Off peak
kWh (export)

Standard kWh (export)

Peak kWh (export)

Total kWh (export)

kvarh quadrant 1

kvarh quadrant 2

kvarh quadrant 3

kvarh quadrant 4

Current demand (kW) (d)

Current tariff period

Appliance switching times

Status of Appliance switching
(open / close)

Supply capacity limit (kW)

Meter event: Tamper detected

Meter event: Over & under voltage

Meter event: Disconnect

Meter event: Emergency appliance control

Meter event: Meter configuration change

C) Customer interface unit display
(credit meters)

Meter identification number (serial number)

Date and time

Off peak kWh (import)

Standard kWh (import)

Peak kWh (import)

Total kWh (import)

Off peak kWh (export)

Standard kWh (export)

Peak kWh (export)

Total kWh (export)

kvarh quadrant 1

kvarh quadrant 2

kvarh quadrant 3

kvarh quadrant 4

Current demand (kW) (d)

Interval energy consumption (kWh)

Current tariff period

Energy cost (current billing month) (Rand value)

Energy cost (previous interval) (Rand value)

Appliance switching times

Status of Appliance switching (open / close)

Supply capacity limit (kW)

Meter event: Tamper detected

Meter event: Over & under voltage

Meter event: Disconnect

Meter event: Emergency appliance control

Meter event: Meter configuration change

D) Prepayment meter and customer interface unit display

The meter serial number

The tariff index

The key revision number

The key type

The power limit

The available credit

The total energy used to date

The tamper status

Instantaneous Power



Date of last token entered

Software Version
-


Additional tamper detection information

Token ID of Last Credit Token

Display sequence are configurable

Meter
display requirements

Suitable for use in direct sunlight as specified

Display intensity not sensitive to:

A) 20% variation of voltage

B) 5% variation of frequency

Energy values:

A) At least six significant digits

B) Is the display configurable to in
dicate no fractions of kWh

Makes provision for 1/10kWh for testing

Digits at least 4mm in height

Customer interface unit display

Caters for:

A) Messages > 160 characters long

B) Characters comprising alphanumeric characters, symbols, icons

Colored
indicators for:

A) Indication of active tariff rate

B) At least three tariffs catered for with colors red, yellow & green

Scrolling functionality catered for as specified

CIU configurable to match correct meter

Characters at least 4mm in height

Caters for reading in the dark
-

button activity to activate

CUI shall function after meter has disconnected the supply.

A) Can all information be displayed on the CIU after the meter has disconnected the supply i.e. exceeding load
limit, non
-
payment

Meter specific requirements

Meter: Full compliance to SANS 62052
-
11

A) Housing surface mount

B) Case according to SANS 62052
-
11

C) Insulation to protective class II

D.1) Terminals for British Standards footprint

D.2) Terminals for common base
(prepayment option)

E.1) Two securing screws per terminal

E.2) Clamp terminal with one screw

F) Auxiliary inputs / outputs: State type of terminal

G) Terminal diameter ³ 8mm

H) State material of screws and terminals

I) Terminals securely attached to
meter?

J) No circuits carrying current from external CTs shall be routed directly through the meters printed circuit board

K) Dimensions:

K.1) Single phase: Maximum of 190mm high, 130mm wide, 120mm deep

K.2) Single phase prepayment (common base): Maximum of 270mm high, 130mm wide, 80mm deep

K.3) Three phase: 270mm high, 180mm wide, 150mm deep

L) Rating plates according to SANS 62052
-
11

M) The serial number shall be as per NRS474 and shall also be in
barcode format

P) Connection diagrams in accordance with SANS 62052
-
11

Q.1) Meter cover sealable?

Q.2) Terminal cover sealable?

Load control devices

Mechanical and climatic requirements compliant to SANS 62052
-
11

A) Insulated
-

protective class 2

B)

Appliance control device: IP54 rated

Appliance control housing:

A) Surface mounting (screw type installation)

B) DIN
-
rail mounted

C) Three
-
pin plug to SANS 164
-
1 (accepting a normal three pin plug of the appliance to be controlled)

Customer interface

unit

Mechanical and climatic requirements compliant to SANS 62052
-
21

A.1) Surface mountable

A.2) Plugged into standard mains socket outlet

A.3) Stand
-
alone unit

B) Customer interface unit: IP54 rated

Concentrator

Mechanical and climatic
requirements compliant to SANS 62052
-
11

Meter specific requirements

Meter

Does your Smart Meter's accuracy class for active energy meet Class 1 to SANS 62053 part 21 and is able to
measure on a Time
-
of
-
Use basis as per the requirements of NRS049:2008
(Clause 4.10.1)?

Does your Smart Meters have supply connection terminals and dimensions as specified in NRS049:2008
(Clause 4.9.1.k)?

Electrical requirements compliant to SANS 62052
-
11

Current and voltage inputs

A) Reference frequency 50Hz ± 2.5Hz

B.1) Reference voltage single phase: 230V

B.2) Reference voltage three phase: 400V

C) Basic current £ 20A

D.1) Maximum current ³ 80A

D.2) Continuous operation @120% of maximum current

E) Continuous operation @120% of maximum voltage

Equipment ope
rate from phase voltage

Load control switch

Electrical requirements compliant to SANS 62052
-
21

Rating: ³ 80A single phase, ³ 100A three phase

Normally closed configuration

Operation
-

latching type

Appliance control device

Electrical requirements
compliant to SANS 62052
-
21

Rating: ³ 25A

Normally closed configuration

Powered by:

A) Internal battery

B) Mains supply

Protective class II

Battery powered: Allow for easy battery replacement

Operation
-

latching type






AMI system according
to NRS049 figure 1: Master meter shall communicate to at least 12 slave meters (state
number)

AMI system according to NRS049 figure 2: Concentrator (router) shall communicate to at least 50 slave meters
(state number)

Does the master station supports messaging to and from customers cellphones?

What functionality is supported?

Does the system caters for:

A) Load management commands

B) Customer operation of appliances (switch off remotely)

C) General messaging to
customers

Functional requirements for AMI master station

Provides for all functionality as stated from 4.3 to 4.6

If not, state what is not catered for

Load control groupings

A) Is hierarchical customer groupings catered for (supply details)

Remote
configuration control



Master station caters for remote control to:

A) Change configurations for appliance control

B) Change configurations for supply capacity control

C) Initiate on
-
demand appliance control commands

D) Initiate on
-
demand supply
capacity control commands

E) All of the above shall be catered for in customer groupings or individually

State what functionality is supported for dynamic load restoration

On
-
demand meter interrogation supported to:

A) Determine status of load switch

B) Status of appliance control devices

Supports recording of configuration changes and events at master station for:

A) Firmware updates

B) Configuration updates

C) Customer base changes

D) Customer information changes

E) AMI system failures (state
what is supported)

F) Meter time changes

Messaging from master station

Master station supports messaging on:

A) Notification of critical demand event

B) Notification of outstanding payment

C) Tariff update information

D) Billing values (state what
is supported)

E) Other retailer messages

Master station supports messaging in the form of:

A) General broadcast

B) Group messaging

C) Individual messaging

Firmware updates

Future firmware updates free of charge (state conditions)

Remote firmware
upgrades possible

Metrology upgrades
-

disallow remote updates



Performance targets

Groups (based on 100 000 devices (meter, appliance control devices, customer interface units).

A.1) Collection of meter readings (99% < 8h)

A.2) Collection of meter
readings (99.9% < 24h)

B.1) On
-
demand appliance control (90% < 10 min)

B.2) On
-
demand appliance control (99% < 30 min)

B.3) On
-
demand appliance control (99.9% < 60 min)

C.1) On
-
demand load limiting (90% < 10 min)

C.2) On
-
demand load limiting (99% < 30

min)

C.3) On
-
demand load limiting (99.9% < 60 min)

D.1) Remote configuration change (90% < 30 min)

D.2) Remote configuration change (99% < 2h)

D.3) Remote configuration change (99.9% < 8h)

E.1) Broadcast messages (90% < 1h)

E.2) Broadcast messages
(99% < 4h)

E.3) Broadcast messages (99.9% < 8h)

Individual customer (meter, appliance control devices, customer interface units)

A) Collection of 31 days of meter readings (< 20 min)

B) On
-
demand appliance control (< 1 min)

C) On
-
demand load limiting
(< 1 min)

D) Remote configuration change (< 10 min)

E) Broadcast messages (< 1 min)

F) Virtual prepayment tokens (if applicable) (<10 min)



General

A) SABS RCC certificates supplied for all equipment

Copies of all international test certificates

A) Copies to be in English

B) State details of testing performed

C) Certificates certifying that institution is accredited to perform applicable testing

Provide full details on dependability testing

A) Type of testing done (state all)

B) Duration of t
esting on each equipment type

C) Batch size of units under testing

Prepayment meters: STS compliant (provide certification)

Meter and concentrator type testing

A) Type testing to be done according to SANS (IEC) 62052 parts 11, 21, 23

B) Prepayment
meters: SANS 1524
-

1

Time drift: < 0.5 seconds / day

Load control switch type test results compliant with the requirements of:

A) 4.9.2

B) 4.10.2

Appliance control device type test results compliant with the requirements of:

A) 4.9.2

B) 4.10.2

Calibration of meters

The calibration shall be done according to the requirements of 5.5 and the following details to be
provided:

A) Name of calibration facility

B) Supply details of accreditation of facility

C) State overall uncertainty of measuremen
t of calibration process

D) Calibration results to be issued to Eskom electronically

Customer interface unit type testing

Customer interface unit type test results compliant with the requirements of 4.9.3

The following samples shall be provided for
testing purposes:

A) Two meters

B) Two appliance control devices

C) Two customer interface units

D) One concentrator (where applicable)

Note: All equipment shall be configured by supplier

State versions of hardware, firmware and software for all
individual components



Documentation

Software documentation provided as per requirements

System manual provided as per requirements

Drawings provided as per requirements

Testing and commissioning documentation provided as per requirements

Training

State what is provided for and the cost involved

State what is covered by training

Packaging of equipment

Serial number printed as per requirements

State what options are provide for packaging of AMI equipment:

A) Meter, appliance control devices,
customer interface unit separately packaged and labeled

B) Meter and customer interface unit packaged as a unit with separate appliance control devices

C) Meter, appliance control devices, customer interface unit packaged in one package






Does all

your GPRS modems / equipment approved by /compatible with all networks in South Africa?

Is all your communications equipment certified/ approved by ICASA?

State what standards are applied for communication between:

Master station to concentrator (where

applicable)

Master station to meter (where applicable)

Concentrator to meter (where applicable)

CIU to meter

Does your Customer Interface Unit & Appliance Control devices communicate through PLC or RF type
methods?

Is the communication module (e.g.
GPRS modem) used for communication between the Master Station and the
Concentrator or Meters interchangeable?

Are all of the communication protocols freely available to third party users?

Is the master station capable of supporting a range of communicati
on protocols from other suppliers?

Explain what other protocols from other manufacturers are supported between master station and meter or
between master station and concentrator



Is flexibility in communication media catered for?

State type of
communication between master station and meter / concentrator

State relevant standards, protocols and related information

Communication module shall be interchangeable at meter / concentrator

Daisy chain communication

Module fitted to meter
-

supports
³ 12 slave meters

Distance from master meter to slave meters ³ 2 meter

Does noise harmonics interference impact the distance that will affect normal operation (refer to 4.6.2.4.)

If Yes, provide details of maximum distances in response to 4.6.2.4.

Conc
entrator communication

Module fitted to concentrator
-

supports ³ 50 slave meters

Specify the maximum distance between concentrator and metering device that will still ensure full functionality
of system.

Specify under what conditions in relation to
the response in B 1?

Does noise harmonics interference impact the distance that will affect normal operation (refer to 4.6.2.5.)

If Yes, provide details of maximum distances in response to 4.6.2.5.

GPS coordinates:

AMI system shall make provision for G
PS coordinates of each meter to be stored in a database that either
resides in the master station or in the concentrator to which the meter is connected.

Master station shall be able to retrieve the coordinates from the meter

GPS co
-
ordinates of the data

concentrator

Does the system provide for auto reconnection of dropped communication

State how this is normally initiated

State any alternative options provided to initiate auto reconnection

Communication: Meter to appliance control device and customer

interface unit

Is the communication protocols between meter and CIU and appliance control devices published in a publicly
available standard?

What communication protocols are used for communication between:

Meter to appliance control device

Meter to
customer interface unit

State what type of communication media is utilized:

Meter to appliance control device

Meter to customer interface unit

Is additional hard wiring required between devices for communication?

Specify the maximum distance between
meter and appliance control & customer interface units which shall still
ensure effective operation (shall at least be > 200m)

Does noise harmonics interference impact the distance that will affect normal operation (refer to 4.6.3.4.)

If Yes, provide det
ails of maximum distances in response to 4.6.3.4. B

Battery Backup

Does your solution provide a facility for communicating during periods of power outages at the supply
point to:

Concentrators

Meters





Describe your product’s application
architecture, describing the different sub
-
modules and points of integration
between them. Include all modules, indicating their different versions and the dependencies between them.
Please include a high
-
level block diagram in your answer.

Describe the n
ature of the tiering of the application architecture e.g. 2 tier, n tier. Provide a graphical view of the
tiering.

Describe the framework used e.g. J2EE, .net.

Describe the systems development environment with reference to:


What programming language (if any) is being used by this product/solution?


What debugging tools are used by this environment?

Describe the extent to which the package can be tailored. Is this done via custom development or
configuration? Include de
tails of the specific functions and features, the level of skill and effort required, and the
impact on upgrades.

Describe the extensibility of the application.

Can your solution cater for the needs of a global environment?

With reference to 5.1.7, describe specifically currency symbols, exchange rates, decimal separators, date
formatting, etc.

With reference to 5.1.7, can the product/solution default to operating system regional settings?

Describe the extent to which
end
-
users can customise their view of the application and it’s functioning. For
example window positions and colours etc. Provide details of how the user’s customising information is stored.

Is the product/solution “web
-
enabled”?

If the answer to above is yes,


Provide a detailed description of functionality that is available via the web GUI?


What browser versions are supported by your solution/product (specify versions)? List all browser
configuration settings required.



Describe all platforms, products and protocols (e.g. EJB, CORBA, DCOM, AJAX, IIS, ASP, Websphere)
used.


Does the application support XML technologies natively? Provide details


Are there any Java, ActiveX, etc. downloads required for the client?

Describe the web and/or application server architecture of the solution.

Describe which components of the web/application server are implemented in your solution.

Describe the data access layer and the abstraction of data services from the rest of the
application logic

Describe the business logic and rules layer and the nature of its positioning within the application solution.

Describe the role of any process control components in your solution. Does this support BPEL?

Describe the role of any work
flow components in your solution. What standards are supported?

Describe the role of any orchestration or choreography component in your solution.

Does your application implement a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) in its solution?

With reference to

5.1.18, describe how a Service Model can be implemented in your architecture.

With reference to 5.1.18, explain how the Service Model implements loose coupling and coarse granularity.



Describe your product’s data architecture, describing the
different data entities for the different modules. Please
include a high
-
level data model in your answer.

What data will you require from Eskom systems e.g. customer, meter etc.? Please explain.

What data will you be managing and maintaining within your
product/solution? Please explain.

What data will you be sending back to Eskom systems ? Please explain.

Describe the use, if any, of stored procedures and triggers deployed on the database server.

Describe the management of metadata for the application
within the database.

Describe the mechanism for auditing data changes made by users.



Describe your product’s integration architecture. Explain your solution's ability in this regard. Please include a
high
-
level block diagram in your answer.

Show all

interfaces that are required between this product/solution and Eskom systems. Indicate interface as
well as data.

Eskom uses the JavaCAPS (previously SeeBeyond) from SUN Microsystems. Are you capable of integrating to
this product? Describe the mechanism
s in detail.

Does you solution support SUN Java MQ for asynchronous messaging? Specify other MQ's if supported?

Can the product support the use of the JCA 1.5 framework?

Describe how the API (Application Programming Interface) is exposed in a Services B
ased Architecture?

Are API’s (Application Programming Interfaces) extensible with development tools such as: Java, .net, Delphi?
If yes, which versions?

Are messages for information exchange defined? If yes, are messages XML based and comply to IEC
61968
and 61970?

Does your application support web services?

Are all interface methods also available as hosted web services?

Describe the granularity of the web services? Can they be deployed as coarse grained business services?

Describe the degree of

coupling of the web services? Are they loosely or tightly coupled? Explain

Are the WSDL's for the web services published in your documentation?

Can the product support the consumption or provision of web services? Specify the nature of the support

Provide a list of web services (including description) that are available.



Hardware, Database and Operating System (Weighting 30%)

Describe your product’s technical architecture. Include all components such as Application Servers, Database
Servers,
Firewalls, Networks, Middleware, Etc. Please include a high
-
level block diagram in your answer.

List the details for all hardware requirements for this solution/product

including quantities
. Include the
following (where applicable).

Database Server (if a
ny),

Application Server (if any),


Web Server (if any),

Integration/Middleware Server (if any),

Reporting Server

Firewalls (if any),

Citrix Server (if any),

Backup Equipment (if any),

Storage Equipment/Server (if any)

Any additional hardware

State what ass
umptions this is based on.

List the combinations of operating systems (specify versions) and server hardware platforms that have been
tested and certified with this product/solution (include test results)? Specify preferences (e.g. OS/390 on IBM
S/390, HP
-
UX on HP9000, Windows NT on DEC, etc.)

Indicate the database management systems on which your package can be implemented. Indicate the versions
supported as well as the OS.

Describe the mechanism/protocol used by the application tier to access the
database. Specify in detail.

Describe the use of any connection management capability to the database tier e.g. connection pooling,
resources etc

Describe how your product could be implemented using a:

Single enterprise
-
wide server architecture

Fully
distributed server architecture (where data and servers are distributed at the regional level for
performance or other reasons).

Describe your product's archiving capabilities.

Describe changes made to the kernel of the operating system, in order to acc
ommodate your product.

Security (Weighting 20%)

Describe how your product implements security. Indicate the levels of security provided by your product.
Include the following:

Describe the ability of your application to handle user groups, sub
-
groups,
and user profiles.

What security features does the application offer? Explain the mechanisms at both application and database
level.

Does the solution support encryption e.g. SSL 128 bit encryption, SSH, Triple DES, MD5, AES

How would you ensure that yo
ur solution does not breach Eskom security? Explain in detail all the security
information related to this product/solution. These include, but are not limited to:

Data security over (various) communication media.

Explain how data security is handled
between the master station and Eskom systems

Explain how Data security is handled between the Master Station and Meters (include Concentrators if
applicable)?

Detail all server/database/workstation security components that have been built into the design

of the
product/solution?

Are there any gateway and/or firewall channels that need to be opened?

Describe the extent to which your application’s login facilities can be integrated with the Eskom’s Novell
NetWare Identity Vault to authenticate users.

Networking Requirements (Weighting 10%)

Explain in detail, the IT network impacts of implementing this product/solution in the context of WAN and LAN
performance requirements.

Indicate which communications protocols are supported by your product on the L
AN and WAN (e.g. TCP/IP,
IPX/SPX, Ethernet, etc.)

What minimum network infrastructure (bandwidth requirements) will be needed for the product/solution?

What are the average packet sizes of the application transactions across the wide area network? List
all
transactions and packet sizes.

What testing (if any) has been conducted with this product/solution over a highly distributed network
infrastructure? Please explain.

Scalability & Performance (Weighting 20%)

Indicate whether the solution provides or supports standard products to monitor system performance. Describe
the tools used and the process followed to tune the performance across all tiers.

What capacity in terms of concurrent users and servers, has yo
ur solution been designed for AND tested for in
an environment where users are accessing the system via a WAN (wide area network) or LAN? Please refer to
figures from current installations, including response times and traffic impact. Please provide test r
eports to
validate.

Does your solution implement a load
-
balancing scheme? If so, please describe which tier and the nature of
possible implementation.

Does your solution benefit from a multi threading approach that can leverage hardware designed for
highly
threaded applications?

Please fully describe how your product scales (i.e. how your product supports a substantial increase in the
number of meters from 10 000 to 120 000 etc.). Explain all parameters that would have an impact (e.g. number
of meter
s, number of concentrators, reading intervals etc.). Explain your methodology for scaling up.

Operations Architecture (Weighting 20%)

Describe whether a configuration database is supported and whether new releases are provided as upgrades
or
replacements.

Describe the installation approach e.g.:


Are installation procedures and scripts provided?


Are acceptance tests provided?


Explain how updated code is applied. Specifically, discuss the action that must be taken by Eskom support

personnel to apply changes (assuming some level of customisation/integration has taken place).

Discuss the mechanism for upgrading software on the client workstation. For example, automated downloads
or notification for downloading new release on to the

client.

Indicate whether source code will be provided to Eskom. Explain the process for requesting application
modifications based on core code.

Describe how your organisation's release strategies are integrated with those vendors of software upon which

you are dependent (e.g. DBMS, workstation operating system, etc). Indicate the support timeframes for
superseded versions of dependent software.

Describe the mechanism for enabling system monitoring of the solution and interfacing to monitoring suites e
.g.
HP Gallium's BAC

Discuss the facilities available to support batch processing:

Describes the processes which would typically be batch oriented e.g. reading meters, creation of bulk files etc.

Describe your solution's job scheduling capability

Can
the solution be administered both remotely and centrally. Please explain






Indicate the different implementation approaches supported by your product. For example:

Phased (according to a specific number of customers in a given region in a given
period, and a specific number
of customers per site onwards)

Once off (“big
-
bang”)

Indicate your preferred implementation approach. Also, indicate the prescribed or recommended sequence for
implementation.

Provide an indicative project plan for each of
the two implementation approaches described above. Include
man
-
hours, timelines and dependencies and assumptions.

The solution provider should coordinate first
-
line support for all the components during the system rollout stage,
and provide knowledge tran
sfer to the Eskom project team. Explain how you would cater for this requirement.

The solution provider should coordinate first
-
line support for the ongoing maintenance and support of the
integrated system after deployment. Explain how you would cater
for this requirement.

Do you have an accredited/preferred implementation partner (It is not mandatory for you to have an accredited
implementation partner)?

List your accredited/preferred implementation partner if any.

Define the scope of work of your
implementation partner if any.

Can your solution be implemented without your accredited/preferred implementation partner?

Once you are successful from the RFP process, how long would it take before you are ready to install your
product?

Field devices

(meters, load control devices and communications)

Master Station Software i.e. AMI and Load Control Station (hardware and software)

Do you have a accredited/preferred hardware devices installation partner?

List your accredited/preferred hardware device
s installation partner?

Define the scope of work of your hardware devices installation partner if any.

Can your solution be implemented without your accredited/preferred hardware devices installation partner?

How long will it take to deploy a fully
operational AMI Solution inclusive of 10,000 Meters, Customer User
Interface, and Appliance Control Devices?



Based on your experience, describe the impact of your product will have on Eskom’s business and what tools
and methods are available to
optimise the transition of your product into Eskom? Clearly indicate your role in
the answer.



Describe any risks associated with your offering.





Is there suitable locally skilled trainers available in South Africa?






Provide a detailed
description of all your software support implications that would come with your implementing
the Smart Meter solution.

Provide a detailed description of all your software maintenance implications that would come with your
implementing the Smart Meter
solution.

Provide a detailed description of all your hardware support implications that would come with your implementing
the Smart Meter solution.

Provide a detailed description of all your hardware maintenance implications that would come with your
imp
lementing the Smart Meter solution.






Eskom's Quality Management System fully complies with the requirements of the international code of practice
for Quality Systems:

Is your company and your manufacturing process certified to ISO9001:2000?

If no

to 9.1.2.1. is your company certified to a different Standard?

If the answer to 9.1.2.2. above is yes, then:

Provide the Title

Reference Number

Standards organisation's name

If you answer to "No" to both 9.1.2.1. and 9.1.2.2. then are selected
elements only of ISO9001:2000?

If your company is not fully compliant with ISO 9001:2000, clearly indicate which elements of ISO 9001:2000
are covered by your system? (By clause number)



Specify all assumptions and exclusions that you have made in
detail regarding your entire proposal.