System And Method For Utilizing District Metering Areas Based On Meter Designations

Abstract

A computer implemented method implemented on a computer system includes non-transient memory storing instructions for configuring a plurality of district metering areas within a utility supply network. The method includes identifying a plurality of flow measurement devices, wherein each flow measurement device is connected by a directional connection to at least one other flow measurement device, generating a utility supply network representation based on the directional connections between the flow measurement devices, and generating a plurality of district metering areas for the utility supply network representation, each district metering area being a directed acyclic graph based on the directional connections and including a subset of the plurality of flow measuring devices and including at least one flow measurement device designated as a supply meter and at least one flow measurement device designated as a demand meter.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A computer implemented method implemented on a computer system including non-transient memory storing instructions for configuring a plurality of district metering areas within a utility supply network, comprising:
 identifying a plurality of flow measurement devices, wherein each flow measurement device is connected by a directional connection to at least one other flow measurement device;   generating a utility supply network representation based on the directional connections between the flow measurement devices; and   generating a plurality of district metering areas for the utility supply network representation, each district metering area including a subset of the plurality of flow measuring devices and including at least one flow measurement device designated as a supply meter and at least one flow measurement device designated as a demand meter.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one flow measurement device is designated as a supply meter in a first district metering area and designated as a demand meter in a second district metering area 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further including generating a listing of flow measurement devices that are not included in a subset for a district metering area for the utility supply network representation. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further including determining a net utility flow discrepancy based on a comparison of the aggregate supply flow, measured by flow meters designated as supply meters, and the aggregate demand flow, measured by flow meters designated as demand meters. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further including replacing one or more meters in a district metering area based on a determination that the aggregate supply flow has been less than the aggregate demand flow over one of a defined period of time and by a defined amount. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , further including initiating loss mitigation in a district metering area based on a determination that the aggregate supply flow has been greater than the aggregate demand flow over one of a defined period of time and a defined amount. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , further including modifying the operation of one or more flow measurement devices based on the determined net utility flow discrepancy. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further including regenerating the utility supply network representation and the plurality of district metering areas for the utility supply network based on a detected change to one or more flow measurement devices in the utility supply network. 
     
     
         9 . A computer system executing instructions, stored in non-transient memory, for configuring a plurality of district metering areas within a utility supply network, comprising:
 a network control system configured to
 identify a plurality of flow measurement devices, wherein each flow measurement device is connected by a directional connection to at least one other flow measurement device and 
 generate a utility supply network representation based on the directional connections between the flow measurement devices; and 
   a district metering system configured to generate a plurality of district metering areas for the utility supply network representation, each district metering area including a subset of the plurality of flow measuring devices and including at least one flow measurement device designated as a supply meter and at least one flow measurement device designated as a demand meter.   
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 9 , wherein at least one flow measurement device is designated as a supply meter in a first district metering area and designated as a demand meter in a second district metering area. 
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the district metering system is further configured to generate a listing of flow measurement devices that are not included in a subset for a district metering area for the utility supply network representation. 
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 9 , further including determining a net utility flow discrepancy based on a comparison of the aggregate supply flow, measured by flow meters designated as supply meters, and the aggregate demand flow, measured by flow meters designated as demand meters. 
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the district metering system is further configured to order the replacement of one or more meters in a district metering area based on a determination that the aggregate supply flow has been less than the aggregate demand flow over one of a defined period of time and by a defined amount. 
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the district metering system is further configured to initiate loss mitigation in a district metering area based on a determination that the aggregate supply flow has been greater than the aggregate demand flow over one of a defined period of time and a defined amount. 
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the district metering system is further configured to modify the operation of one or more flow measurement devices based on the determined net utility flow discrepancy. 
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 9 , wherein the network control system is further configured to regenerate the utility supply network representation and the plurality of district metering areas for the utility supply network based on a detected change to one or more flow measurement devices in the utility supply network.