Apparatus, methods and computer programs provided for metering and accounting in a commercial e-services infrastructure address the requirement for handling composite services in which higher-level services are built using simpler underlying services, each of which may be autonomously owned and operated. Each pipe component includes a length of a pipe with a flange that is secured at one end. On the opposite end of the spectrum, fully autonomous solutions require inordinate amounts of technology, and a level of robustness that is currently not cost effective. A second light source in the brim projects light at a downward angle to the first light source forward direction. The ring element is releasable so that it can be separated from the balance without dismantling other parts.