3. Metering Channels

Version 57.1 by Lana on 2025/11/30 19:58

CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION

CENTO is a multifunctional software platform for data collection, processing, and display. This Guide contains a description of setting up metering of electricity, energy resources, as well as other types of metering.

It is assumed that the user, having read the instructions "User manual" and "Setup manual", is already familiar with the main elements of the interface and how to configure CENTO.

2. ELECTRICITY METERING

2.1. Device setup

CENTO software can work with a variety of metering devices that have the ability to measure and store power and power profiles. The metering function is enabled by adding the metering protocol corresponding to the device on the Device editing page (Settings > Devices, tags, channels > Devices), then, similar to other polling protocols, the parameters of communication with the device (RTU address, TCP/UDP port, timeout and number of connection attempts) and scheduled polling parameters (cron of CENTO rules) are specified, to configure electricity metering, the file number is specified in the "File#" field,  which stores power and power profiles.

We will consider the survey of historical data of interval values of accumulated electricity using the example of SATEC devices. For this purpose, the SATEC (Modbus TCP) protocol is used (see Fig 2.1).

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Figure 2.1. Settings of the E/E metering protocol

Setting up the E/E metering protocol contains the following fields:

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Selection of the accounting protocol from the drop-down list and its inclusion in the survey.

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Setting up a poll according to the Cron rule (there can be several) with set attempts and timeouts.

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Specifying the network address of the device and the port for the TCP connection.

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Serial number of the E/E metering data file in the device's memory (for devices of the Satec type).

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Device administrator password.

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Coefficients of conversion of interval values of readings/power (depends on the type of metering device, as well as on the type of connection (direct or with measuring transformers).

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Transformation coefficients of current and voltage transformers, meter coefficient.

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Specifying the TCP connection number for parallel polling of one device (for example, if the device is connected via a Modbus TCP/Modbus RTU converter, then the number of the trunk to which the device is connected is specified).

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Selection of energy/power profile.

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Enabling/disabling the time synchronization of the device on the CENTO side, with the configured period of maximum time correction in seconds, as well as the permissible deviation.

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Enabling/disabling a particular channel.

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Serial number of the record (metering channel) in the E/E metering data file in the device's memory (for devices of the Satec type).

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When this option is enabled, the specified numbers of energy and power files are not taken into account.

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Enabling/disabling reading logs from the device.

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Rounding of channels.

Viewing and changing the metering parameters in the memory of the metering device is carried out in accordance with the instructions of the operating manual for this device.

2.2. Setting up metering channels

Electricity meters often do not need to manually add channels to the list of tags, so all the settings are in the metering protocol.  The display of the used accounting channels from the protocol automatically appears on the Tags, channels tab, but with a ban on editing actions.

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Figure 2.2. Display of metering channels

Clicking on the channel name or its ID, redirects to the Device editing: editing page, as shown in Fig. 2.1.

The forms for filling in the fields for setting up electricity metering protocols are different and depend on the type/model of the device, instructions for working with the protocols can be described in different manuals and, if necessary, provided to the User.

3. ENERGY METERING (COMING)

3.1. Device Setup (Coming)

4. OTHER TYPES OF METERING

In addition to metering electricity and energy resources, the CENTO software supports tracking of operating time, emissions and discharges, as well as product accounting.

Metering can be implemented not only on the basis of specialized metering devices, but also performed in the CENTO software itself on the basis of tags (real-time data). For example, using information about the state of the equipment (0 - disabled and 1- enabled), the user can set up a metering channel that will calculate the operating time of the equipment. And using the processing functions (see Section 5 of this manual), you can form metering channels (increments) from the current capacity, instantaneous flow or an ever-growing meter.

5. CALCULATED CHANNELS

If the device installed at any connection does not have the function of storing interval values of electricity/power in the memory, as well as archived values for other types of metering, CENTO has the function of generating interval values from tags (real-time data). In order to create a metering channel, go to Settings > Devices, tags, channels > Calculation channels (see Fig. 5.1).

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Figure 5.1. List of calculated channels

5.1. Channel from tag

To create a new metering channel from real-time data (tags), click the button Screenshot 2025-11-30 at 16.28.39.png

Then the Channel from tag:

editing page opens. When adjusting an already created metering channel, the page Channel from tag: editing will open (see Fig.  5.2).

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Figure 5.2. Channel from tag: editing

On the page that opens, specify the name of the channel, its ID (it is written automatically when created, and it does not change for the existing one) and the Code (an optional field), the category of the parameter – electricity/energy resources/technology/emissions/diagnostics/time and the corresponding categories of units of measurement, whether the metering channel has metrological significance, and also fill in the fields:

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ID of the tag on the basis of which the calculation channel will be created.

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Selection of the device in the object tree from which the specified tag ID is taken.

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Function for processing parameter values.

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Value aggregation interval.

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Processing the calculated channel with formula input.

5.2. Calculated channel

To create a channel that processes the values of several connections, or interval values, for example, summing up electricity consumption by a group of consumers (total energy consumption) or calculating the balance of consumed energy, click the button on the Calculated channels tab (see Fig. 4.1), then click  Screenshot 2025-11-30 at 16.33.58.png

When adjusting an already created metering channel, the Settlement channel: editing page opens (see Fig. 5.3).

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Figure 5.3. Metering channel: editing page

On the page that opens, specify the name of the channel, its ID (it is specified automatically when created, but it does not change for the existing one) and the Code (an optional field), the category of the parameter – electricity/energy resources/technology/emissions/diagnostics/time and the corresponding categories of units of measurement, the object and device to which the parameter will be linked.

In the Template field, specify the formula for processing the values of all parameters used in the calculation. The formula can use arithmetic operations, conditions, mathematical functions that are specified in Screenshot 2025-11-30 at 16.35.23.png and the following variables for power channels:

  • ea_imp - energy A+
  • ea_exp - energy A-
  • er_imp - energy R+
  • er_exp - energy R-
  • pa_imp - power A+
  • pa_exp - power A-
  • pr_imp - R+ power
  • pr_exp is the power of R-
  • ra_imp - A+ readings
  • ra_exp - A- readings
  • rr_imp - R+ readings
  • rr_exp - R- readings

5.3.  Calculated channels via Information Model

For calculation channels of the same type, it is possible to define custom formulas that operate based on Information Model objects and their attributes. In addition to tags and channels, the Information Model can also supply supplementary data (e.g., reference information). To create a template, click the create template button Screenshot 2025-11-30 at 16.36.34.png as shown in Fig. 5.4.

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Fig. 5.4 – Creating a Formula Template

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Figure 5.5. Creating custom formula

As shown in Fig. 5.5, the custom formula creation window requires input of the formula name, an optional identifier code, and the formula expression. An example demonstrating the calculation of losses in cable lines is provided in Fig. 5.6.

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Figure 5.6. Calculation formula

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Figure 5.7. Using calculation formula

Fig. 5.7 shows the application of the calculation formula:
3*IM{Object identifier IM}.r_ohm_per_km*pow(agg("mean","{line current}","{Interval}"),2)*0.001, where:

  • IM{Identifier of the IM object}. r_ohm_per_km – reference to the value of the attribute with the code " r_ohm_per_km " " of the information model object
  • Pow – exponentiation
  • Agg is an aggregation function
  • Mean – average value for the time interval
  • {line current} – a link to the tag ID
  • {Interval} – data interval.

 The braces { } contain the arguments that need to be entered in the data entry fields as in Fig. 5.7.

5.4. Downloading/Uploading calculated channels

The Downloading/Uploading configuration files page (Settings > Configuration files) provides functionality for importing and exporting calculation metering channels using Excel files.

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Figure 5.8. Excel file

Fig. 5.8 shows an example of an Excel file with calculated metering channels, which allows adding new channels, as well as adjusting existing ones. All the necessary functions for entering formulas are available in formula reference interface, as well as in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1. Functions used in formulas.

FunctionDescriptionExample
diffCalculating increments from accrual (readings) by channeldiff([dev-2-214]) - calculation of increments from the cumulative total (readings) on channel 214 of device 2
meanAverage Time Intervalmean by the ID10001 tag for a 1-hour time interval
integralIntegral of ValuesIntegral by tag ID40011100 in a 1-hour time interval
firstIndication at the beginning of the intervalfirst([ti50206_type5], 3600, 0, 0) – calculation of readings based on the ID50206 tag at the beginning of the interval, calculated every hour

6. RECEIPT OF ACCOUNTING DATA

The Analysis of the receipt of data page is the same for all types of metering. It is described in details in the "User manual"

6.1. Manual polling

If it is necessary to re-acquire data from metering devices, a manual poll should be performed. To do this, navigate to the Receipt of metering data page (Analysis > Receipt of metering data). This action opens the Analysis of the receipt of data interface (see Fig. 6.1)

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Figure 6.1. Analysis of the receipt of data

In the device tree, select the required metering point, find the missing data profiles and click on the buttonScreenshot 2025-11-30 at 16.45.10.pngthat instructs the polling service to request an archive from the selected device for the selected interval. After pressing the button, a message about the number of devices to be polled and the time interval will be displayed on the screen. If a message pops up that the operation may take a long time (see Fig. 6.2), it is recommended to reduce the number of devices or the scanning depth (see Fig. 6.3).

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Figure 6.2. Message when the number of devices or the polling depth is exceeded.

If the limit is not exceeded, a window pops up:

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Figure 6.3. Confirmation of the start of the survey

The Refresh button requeries the data from the database for the current view.

6.2. Recalculation of calculated channels

In case of changes in the data used in the calculation channels or changes in the calculation formulas, it is necessary to recalculate the values of the calculated channels. This is performed in the Analysis of the receipt of data interface (Analysis > Receipt of metering data). The button Screenshot 2025-11-30 at 16.47.46.png appears if the devices to which the calculated channels are bound are selected in the tree. 

If the data used in calculated channels or the calculation formulas themselves are modified, it is necessary to recalculate the values of the calculated channels. This operation is performed through the Analysis of the receipt of data interface (Analysis > Receipt of metering data). The recalculation button becomes available when the devices associated with the calculated channels are selected in the tree."

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Figure 6.4. Recalculation of channels

At the end of the recalculation process, the information on the Analysis of metering data page (Analysis > Metering data) will be updated.

7. ANALYSIS OF METERING DATA

7.1. Viewing metering data

To view historical data on electricity/energy metering, select Metering data in the drop-down list of the Analysis menu. As a result, the Analysis of data metering page opens (see Fig 7.1 – Fig. 7.2).

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Figure 7.1. Charts for electricity channels

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Figure 7.2. Charts for energy resources channels

A more detailed description of this interface is described in the "User manual".

7.2. Metering data manual entry

With the appropriate rights, the User can make a manual entry of metering data. To do this, you hover the cursor over the desired cell in the table, perform a left click of the mouse and enter a new value, after which the save value icon appears on the right side of the input field Screenshot 2025-11-30 at 16.51.39.png. Press it or Enter on your keyboard, and the value goes to the CENTO database. For devices where only manual data entry is provided, CENTO has developed a procedure for filling the cells between two manual entries. If readings are recorded at 10:00 a.m. and then again at 8:00 p.m., the system automatically fills in the readings for all intermediate intervals. For electricity metering channels, the system additionally calculates and populates the corresponding energy and power values.

Manual entry of credentials is also available using an .xlsx file.

The Download button allows downloading the selected metering channels to the User's computer in .xlsx format. The downloaded file can be used for manual entry of metering data. To perform manual entry, open the file in the editor. Then enter new data in the fields, mark them in bold and save the file Screenshot 2025-11-30 at 16.52.15.png in the CENTO interface. This opens a file upload window with a prompt for use (Fig. 7.3).

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Figure 7.3. Uploading file