What are electricity, gas and water meters and why do we use them?
In order to input utility data (electricity, water, gas and heat/stream) into Rio, meters need to be created and assigned to a location.
Key aspects of meters in Rio are:
- Electricity, gas and water meters are used to measure how much of a certain utility is consumed/emitted at a specific location which has been configured in the Rio platform.
- Multiple meters can be configured to a single location in Rio
- They can be updated at any time
Configuring Meters
To add a meter you will need to define what type of meter you are going to add from the drop down list from the 'Meters' option in 'Account Configuration'. Once a meter type has been created the meter will then need to be associated to a specific location:
A unique 'Meter code' can also be associated to a specific meter.
- An Electricity meter may have a unique MPAN (Meter Point Administration Number) associated to it, sometimes called an Electricity Supply Number.
- Electricity meters can be configured as an energy generating meter, if your organisation wishes to capture any electricity generated on site
- For any renewable electricity meters, the type of electricity will be indicated in Rio upon upload via populating the tariff column with the appropriate electricity tariff.
Rio Tip: To ensure users upload the correct tariff to the respective meter it is recommended the type of supply is indicated in the meter name such as "London Headquarters 100% Renewable Electricity" However, please note Rio will only apply the correct emissions factor when the Tariff is indicated upon upload.
- A Gas meter may have a unique MPRN (Meter Point Reference Number)
- A Water meter may have a unique SPID (Supply Point ID) Water meters can also be classified as either ‘Water In’ or ‘Water Out’:
- ‘Water In’ meters should be utilised for inbound supplied water. The carbon conversion factor for ‘Water In’ will use the Defra ‘Water Supply’ carbon conversion factors
- ‘Water Out’ meters should be utilised for wastewater that is subsequently treated. ‘Water Out’ will use the ‘Water Treatment’ carbon conversion factors
- Rio does allow a water meter to be classified as both a ‘Water In’ and a ‘Water Out’ location. In this instance Rio makes the assumption that any water supplied will ultimately be disposed of and treated. This is achieved by Rio automatically populating the ‘Water Out (m3)’ with the same figure that is used for the ‘Water In (m3)’.
- Classifying a water meter as both ‘Water In’ and ‘Water Out’ should only be used where the user has no associated ‘Water Out’ meters and where it is assumed any water supplied will ultimately be disposed of and treated.
Further non-mandatory information can be associated to a meter that provide details of the 'Meter Supplier' (this is usually the supplier of the utility/meter type), or the MOP (Meter Operator), this may not be your utility provider.
Updating Meters
Meters can be updated at any time.
If you wish to so, navigate to Configuration>Account Configuration>Meters and locate the meter you wish to update.
Once identified, select the pencil icon under the Actions column to make any changes to an existing meter. To save these changes, select "Update Meter".
Rio Tip: For meters which may have closed, users can update the meter start and end dates.