FDNY Study Guide: Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) Electric Meter Procedures

Definition and Identification: Advanced Meter Infrastructure, commonly referred to as AMI meters, serve as the modern replacement for traditional electric meters.
Deployment and Prevalence: These meters have been installed in over $90\%$ of residential occupancies throughout New York City. They are utilized across all residential categories, which explicitly includes High-Rise (Hi-Rise) buildings.
Primary Functions: The implementation of AMI meters serves three primary organizational purposes:
    * Elimination of Manual Meter Reading: The electric meter reading process is entirely automated, removing the need for physical inspections.
    * Outage Mapping: They allow the utility to accurately determine customer outages following storms.
    * Service Logistics: They facilitate the immediate turning on or off of electric service as tenants or homeowners move in or out of a location.
Technology: These meters are read and controlled remotely by the electric utility provider utilizing radio frequency technology.

Supervisory Monitoring: AMI meters possess internal monitoring capabilities and are programmed to transmit automated alarms to the electric utility for the following conditions:
    * Tampering: Detected interference with the meter hardware.
    * Temperature Increase: Monitoring for localized overheating.
    * Equipment Failure/Malfunction: Internal diagnostics for hardware errors.
Remote Power Regulation: The utility has the capability to perform remote turn-on, remote turn-off, and power reduction. This allows for the regulation of power usage or the total cessation of electric service to a building without requiring a utility crew to respond to the scene or gain physical access to the meter.

Definition: "Geo-fencing" is a strategy used by the electric utility to remove power from a designated larger area by establishing specific geographical boundaries and perimeters.
Practical Examples of Geo-fencing Requests:
* Example A: "Remove power for all buildings one block in every direction from $123$ Main Street."
* Example B: "Remove power for all buildings on Main Street between $1^{st}$ Avenue and $2^{nd}$ Avenue."

Requesting Power Removal: An FDNY Incident Commander (IC) can request the remote removal of power through the following chain of command:
    * Step 1: The IC makes the request to the FD borough dispatcher via department radio.
    * Step 2: The IC must provide specific identifiers, namely the exact building address for a single building request, or the defined perimeters for a Geo-fence request.
    * Step 3: The FDNY dispatcher contacts the relevant electric control center to request the removal.
    * Step 4: The electric utility initiates the remote removal process immediately.
Confirmation Loop:
    * The utility provides confirmation to the FDNY dispatcher once power is removed.
    * The utility must identify any specific buildings where power could not be removed (if applicable).
    * The FDNY dispatcher then notifies the IC, providing the identity of buildings with successfully removed power and the identity of any buildings where power remains active.

Tactical Advantages: Remote shut off is deemed advantageous for reducing or eliminating potential ignition sources during specific high-risk scenarios, including:
    * Major gas emergencies.
    * Illegal drug manufacturing operations.
    * Building collapse incidents.
    * Post-explosion operations.
Risk of Arcing and Ignition:
    * Direct Arcing: The process of remote AMI meter shut off produces an arc at the meter at the moment the power is disrupted.
    * Secondary Arcing: Small arcs may be created when electronic devices transfer from primary electric power to secondary sources. This includes:
        * Generators.
        * Battery back-up burglar alarms.
        * Battery back-up hardwired smoke detectors.
        * Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) units for electronics.
    * Explosion Hazard: In an explosive atmosphere, these arcs can trigger an immediate ignition or explosion.
Protocol Compliance: Any power removal conducted in an explosive atmosphere must strictly adhere to the procedures outlined in "Emergency Procedures Natural Gas," Section $9.2.2$ .
State of the Infrastructure: It is critical to understand that even when remote power removal is successful, electric power remains present up to and inside the meter itself. This is a distinct condition from physical service disconnection, such as when a utility crew cuts a service line on a pole or inside a manhole.

Customer Constraints: Remote power removal (including Geo-fencing) is strictly available for residential customers, including those in High-Rise buildings.
Life Safety Exclusion: AMI meters will not remotely shut off power to any occupancy that has Life Safety Equipment on record with the utility.
Commercial Exclusion: Commercial customers do not have remote shut off capabilities at this time.
Utility Type Constraint: Remote shut off is only available for electric service. Gas service cannot be shut off remotely via this system.
Administrative Authority: These procedures are established by order of the Fire Commissioner and Chief of Department (A.U.C. $182$ , dated August $24$ , $2022$ ).