Smart Meter News

Itron is deploying its wireless fixed network system water metering solution in the town of Port Douglas, in Far North Queensland, Australia. The current deal follows last year’s full-scale deployment of the same system in the city of Kalgoorlie. The projected six-month project is implementing a system that will help the Cairns Regional Council track water consumption and optimize supply according to demand.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has been named one of the Unites States’ most intelligent utilities in the third annual UtiliQ ranking by Intelligent Utility magazine and IDC Energy Insights, a worldwide research and consulting firm. In 2011, PG&E placed behind San Diego Gas & Electric, and in 2010 had been ranked third. 

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has signed two long-term contracts to buy 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy for its portfolio of emissions-free power. The first deal is a 20-year contract to buy 100 MW from Manzana Wind LLC, a 189 MW wind power facility currently under construction in the Tehachapi region near Rosamond, California. Scheduled to be completed in late 2012, the project will be comprised of 126, 1.5 MW wind turbines spread across 4,600 acres. The savings in CO2 is the equivalent of removing 21,500 cars off California roads.

United States Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced funding for 19 clean energy projects that will enable Native American Tribes to promote clean energy within their communities by assessing local energy resources, developing renewable energy projects, and deploying clean energy technologies. Tribal communities will receive more than $6.5 million for these projects.

For all the noise made by the very vocal opponents of smart meters, it appears the vast majority of consumers are choosing not to opt out of the devices. Since the beginning of February California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) authorized Pacific, Gas, and Electric (PG&E) to offer analog meters to residential customers instead of smart meters, the utility has received approximately 4,400 opt-out requests from its residential clients. Of those, 2,800 still had their old analog meters, so they simply won’t get the new devices, and the other 1,600 will exchange their current smart meters for analogue devices.

Smart home technology company AlertMe, was honored with the award for Best Home Energy Monitor at the 2012 Smart Metering UK and Europe Awards. AlertMe’s product was singled out for its technology’s “usability, intelligent energy management platform, and ability to connect with the customer to help reduce energy usage and costs.”

Madison, Wisconsin’s Water Utility will implement Itron’s advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) for Project H20, the city’s initiative to automate the collection and analysis of water meter reads. The solution enables Madison to effectively manage conservation initiatives, improve metering accuracy, and operate more efficiently. Installation is expected to be complete by early 2013.

DN2K has raised $1.5 million from a group of private investors to help with the company’s growth and expansion into global oil and gas, agriculture, smart grid, and electric power industries.

West Monroe Partners has appointed Will McNamara, a Project Manager Professional (PMP), has recently joined the firm’s Chicago office as a Senior Manager in the Energy & Utilities (E&U) department. McNamara will oversee the debut of a new service offering providing regulatory support and key stakeholder relations services to the firm’s utility clients.

Green Charge Networks (GCN) has selected battery manufacturer Saft as a partner in a $92 million smart grid demonstration project that is being led by New York’s Consolidated Edison. The multi-year project is designed to identify, develop, and test new technologies within the electric delivery system that will facilitate a more efficient grid, the integration of smart grid architecture, and measure the effects of widespread electric vehicle adoption on the electric grid.

Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) has agreed to deploy Silver Spring Networks’ Smart Energy Platform to network nearly four million homes, businesses, and Distribution Automation devices, running multiple applications, including advanced metering and distribution automation. The deal was pursues as part of Illinois’ recently enacted Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act (EIMA). Once the agreement is reviewed by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), ComEd will begin installing smart meters.

Itron has signed an agreement to acquire SmartSynch, which it says will “bring greater choice to utility customers across the spectrum of smart metering deployments and strengthen Itron’s integrated cellular communications offering.” The deal, reported to be valued at $100 million, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.

The University at Buffalo (UB) and Buffalo State College will improve green jobs training for undergraduate and graduate students as part of a federally funded program to transform the electrical grid into a smart grid.

China-based Linyang Electronics is integrating Cinterion’s BGS2 in their smart metering products and power utilization management terminals, to provide secure wireless data communications for a range of Linyang products and services including load monitoring and control. The services provider help utilities and consumers conserve energy, simplify reporting and billing procedures, and anti-theft and alarm applications to protect assets in the field.

Itron is partnering with National Grid to build and evaluate an advanced smart grid in Massachusetts that uses a new generation of standards-based network technology. The two companies will field test the multi-application capabilities of the new Itron-Cisco IPv6 based smart grid solution, including advanced metering, home area networking (HAN), and distribution automation (DA).

Accenture is opening a new R&D lab in Beijing, China, in order to expand its global research and development capabilities. The Accenture Technology Lab in Beijing is designed to conduct research on emerging technologies and address the market needs and challenges of businesses and governments in China and other countries in the Asia Pacific region. Accenture has hired a local team of scientists and researchers, led by Accenture Chief Scientist Dr. Kishore Swaminathan.

February’s IEEE Smart Grid Newsletter reports that the University of Minnesota is planning  to build a sustainable community with a Smart Grid overlay and is also working on technology that could lead to the realization of an automated, energy-efficient smart home.

A new study from Verdantix found that Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, and Logica lead the global market for sustainable technology services. The report, Green Quadrant Sustainable Technology Services (Global) 2012 conducted in-depth analysis of 17 global IT services firms based on 52 criteria.

Open Access Technology International (OATI) has acquired two contiguous parcels in Bloomington to house the new OATI South Campus, a new office complex and Data Center.The nearly four-acre South Campus location is scheduled to include a data center, office space, meeting suites, and will showcase OATI Smart Grid solutions as well as other OATI products and services.

E.ON has launched E.ON Innovation, a national challenge to find the next generation of energy products and services. The contest is open to the British public and fronted by technology expert Pollyanna Woodward. E.ON reports it is looking for innovative and exciting products that will help transform energy use in the future. Over the coming weeks, there will be five different challenges launched, based on the themes of rest, work, play, food and wellbeing. The leading ideas will be implemented by E.ON.