SMS-based automatic billing system of household power consumption based on active experts messaging

Abstract

The study about SMS-based Automatic Billing System of Power Consumption aimed to change the conventional way the power utility provider gathers and handles billing data. The system is composed of two basic parts such as the remote site and the base station. The former calculates and sends power consumption while the latter retrieves meter readings, calculates billing charges and processes payment of the customers. Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 was used to develop the Main Server Software with Visual Basic 2008 as the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) or programming tool and Visual Basic as the programming language. The database was created in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and ActiveXperts Messaging Server 4.1 was use as an SMS framework that allows the system to send, receive and process SMS. The use of this system will give greater benefit to the electric company and its customers because of the ease and less impediment in gathering meter readings in remote locations and an instant delivery of billing statements to the customer's cellular phones through SMS technology. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.