The eTWACS Solution

Built on proven TWACS technology

Aclaras enhanced TWACS (eTWACS)

solution provides increased communication
capacity and performance, built on proven
TWACS technology.

The eTWACS solution delivers

TWACS innovations

Increased communication capacity

Improved read reliability
Backward compatibility

TWACS technology is the most successful protocol for

utility network communications ever developed and
now it provides even better communication capacity and
performance. By upgrading to eTWACS, utilities can attain an
interval read success rate greater than 99.8 percent and faster
outage detection. The enhanced TWACS network will deliver
additional comprehensive data and system-wide capacity,
which further improves efficiency, reduces maintenance, and
decreases operational costs.
With eTWACS, utilities can
acquire all daily reads and
hourly interval data from
all meters in less than four
hours. By expanding both data
capacity and speed, eTWACS
enables the implementation
and enhancement of todays
most advanced smart-grid
applications.

TWACS
Master Station

Application Server
Database Server

Commercial &
Industrial
Meter

TWACS DRU

n
tio
ica
un cuit
mm Cir
Co

Client
Workstations

(U Po
nc we
on r L
dit in
ion es
ed
)

(Demand Response
Unit)

TWACS-equipped
Electric Meter

ty n
ili utio
Ut Sol

Create Your Intelligent Infrastructure

Improved capabilities in all components

Flexible upgrade path

S
EA
iiD

Upgrading to eTWACS is easy

and flexible. The eTWACS
system reads all three phases
and all feeders on each bus
in parallel. This parallelism
enables eTWACS solutions to
automatically scale, making the
transition to eTWACS seamless.
Aclaras commitment to
maintaining backwardscompatibility makes it even
easier for older systems to
upgrade to eTWACS.

Modular solution

SCADA, VAR Control

Energy Management,
or Other Platforms

Distribution
Substation

TWACS CST

(Capacitor Switching
Transponder)

Billing/CIS

www.Aclara.com

Aclara iiDEAS

Upgrading to eTWACS
By upgrading to the UMT-R Residential Transponder, Multiple Input Receiver Assembly (MIRA), and
SCPA-G2, utilities can fully-realize the benefits of eTWACS.

Benefits of Upgrading to the UMT-R Residential Transponder

The eTWACS UMT-R module, available for General Electrics I-210+ and Landis+Gyrs FOCUS AX
and AL solid-state residential meters, provides remote, two-way access to usage and voltage data
and ensures meter data is available to the utility. Each eTWACS UMT-R delivers:
Fundamental metering values pulled directly from meter registers, per ANSI C12.19 meter
standards
Outage assessment and restoration works with PROASYS to provide timely dispatch of crews
and real-time monitoring of service restoration
Meter data history stores daily reads for seven days and interval data for a minimum of 35 days
Voltage monitoring retrieves voltage measurements from the meter for increased accuracy
Upgradeability supports remote upgrades of transponder firmware to ensure that you can take
advantage of the latest available features
Ease of installation installs within the meter and accesses data directly from ANSI C12.19 tables,
delivering the data that is most important to the utility
Remote service switch operation supports integrated, under-glass disconnect functionality
Two interval channels includes options for 15, 30 or 60 minute intervals, all with increased storage
Forward, reverse, secure, and net energy monitoring provides energy monitoring for distributed
generation

Benefits of the Multiple Input Receiver Assembly (MIRA)

Three-times the speed over older style TWACS receivers on single-bus substations
Greatly increased search speed and path accuracy
Improved first-time read and search rates over CRPA/CRMA receivers
Greatly improved performance in noisy distribution systems
Remotely upgradable from the master station

Benefits of the Substation Communications Processor Assembly(SCPA-G2)

Direct Ethernet connectivity from the master station to the substation, eliminates serial to IP
converters and dramatically improves communication backhaul speeds and reliability
Increased reading speed by making better use of concurrency in phases and/or buses
Faster connection baud rates for serial communication
Remotely upgradable from the master station
Enhanced queue management to better utilize the MIRAs multi-bus capabilities
Larger queue size causes fewer expired transactions
Provides the platform for future enhancements

Integration with the iiDEAS Solution

Utilities can realize additional benefits with Aclaras iiDEAS solution. iiDEAS brings together the costeffectiveness and reliability of eTWACS and STAR with the data rich and high performance Metrum
Cellular product line to tailor standard AMI solutions to utilities specific business goals.

Aclara
945 Hornet Drive, Hazelwood, MO 63042 | P: 800.297.2728 | F: 314.895.6543
info@aclara.com | www.Aclara.com
2014 Aclara Technologies LLC. All rights reserved. Aclara, TWACS, Metrum Cellular, and STAR Network are
registered trademark of Aclara. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

357-R1 02/14