August 2008
AT&T Inc. and Itron Inc. announced that Itron's industry-leading advanced meter infrastructure solution will be delivered over a cellular network that offers utility companies the ability to cut costs, better manage resources and improve customer service.
The solution integrates wide-area networking using AT&T's nationwide, high speed cellular data network with Itron's OpenWay local-area networking to give utilities two-way communications for access to data from meters throughout their systems. This combination allows utilities to quickly collect, measure and manage energy usage and provide a more reliable and affordable supply of power without having to build and operate costly, proprietary communications networks.
"The AT&T/Itron solution enables utilities to use proven standards-based cellular technology for their Smart Grid AMI initiatives to transport device data and control messaging more efficiently," said Regina Egea, senior vice president, Business Marketing, AT&T Global Business Services. "We are pleased to join with Itron to deliver a complete solution that promises to help utility companies streamline operations while gathering the critical information required to serve their customers."
AT&T and Itron will jointly market Itron's OpenWay AMI solution to utility companies in the United States. Their collaboration will bring a host of benefits to utility companies including:
"AT&T and Itron offer utility companies the unprecedented combination of two industry-leading companies with the level of expertise required to harness the power of wireless technology for AMI transport," said Philip Mezey, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Itron North America. "The time, resources and costs saved will be of tremendous benefit, particularly in today's energy-strapped economy."
According to industry experts, several factors are leading utilities to find ways to increase the performance of their communications networks. The North American Electric Reliability Council reports that the demand for electricity is expected to rise 19 percent by 2010 or 141,000 megawatts with only 57,000 megawatts of new resources currently identified.
One solution to meet that growth in the electric utility industry is the development of a Smart Grid that adds monitoring, control and communications capabilities to the national electricity delivery system in order to maximize the throughput of the system while reducing energy consumption. AMI will allow homeowners and businesses to use electricity as efficiently and economically as possible with features that allow time-of-use pricing and programs such as voluntary energy curtailment in which customers can sign up to have their residential energy consumption managed automatically during times of peak usage.
"Smart Grid and AMI will require ubiquitous communications networks throughout utility service territories," said Warren Causey, vice president, Sierra Energy Group. "As enablers of Smart Grid and AMI initiatives, cellular technologies are receiving a great deal of increased scrutiny as utilities seek cost-effective means of implementing next-generation utility systems."
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