Impacts of the Technological Change Introduced by Smart Energy Metering in the Legal Department of an Electricity Utility

Even though intelligent measurements of energy consumption is envisioned by electric utilities as a strategic communication network to create transparency and efficiency in the operation of the energy industry, the transition from traditional to state-of-the-art technologies have induced a significant impact in the legal department of the utilities. Not straightforwardly understood by consumers unfamiliar with the updated innovative technologies, surprisingly, the modernization of the sector has generated complaints and legal processes that are everyday filed in the legal departments of the utilities. In connection with a project developed under the framework of the regulated ANEEL R&D Program (sponsored by the Brazilian Regulatory Agency responsible for controlling the electrical sector), a study was developed (i) to evaluate the litigation impact caused by the replacement of electromechanical to electronic meters and (ii) to estimate the additional operational costs generated by the introduction of smart metering technology. Making use of the time series methodology, forecasting univariate models, exponential smoothing, and dynamic regression, a case study was developed based on real data made available by an electricity utility operating in Brazil. Results of the work confirm the applicability of the dynamic regression model proposed that allowed an estimation of the impact of the new measurement technology introduced on the amount of input processes named billing complaint on the overall general mass litigation handled by the Legal Department of the utility.