Smart Grid Blog

Landis+Gyr, a global leader in energy management and advanced metering technology, today announced the signing of a software reseller agreement with Grid Net™, a leading global real-time, all-IP Smart Grid and Smart Home software platforms provider.

Under this agreement, Landis+Gyr will offer Grid Net’s PolicyNet SmartGrid NMS™ and SmartNOS™ software platforms, and PolicyNet SmartAgents™ as key software components of its open standards based, highly secure, Smart Grid Solution to Australian and New Zealand utility customers, with a worldwide distribution option.

via Landis+Gyr Announces Software Reseller Agreement with Grid Net | Business Wire.

Oracle announced the availability of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0, a key component of the Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform, which helps utilities manage the vast quantity of customer energy and water consumption data gathered from smart meter deployments.

With Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform, utilities can organize consumption data and turn it into actionable intelligence — improving service, controlling operational costs and responding appropriately to meter-related events and alerts.

via Oracle Announces Availability of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0, Key Component of Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform – MarketWatch.

According to the press release, “Silver Spring Networks, a leading Smart Grid solutions provider, announced today a multi-year extension of its agreement to provide managed services to Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the largest electric utility in Florida and one of the largest rate-regulated utilities in the United States. Under the terms of the agreement, Silver Spring Networks will continue to manage FPL’s AMI Smart Grid platform using UtilityIQ (UIQ). UIQ is the mission-critical software application offered by Silver Spring that delivers a high degree of visibility and control over a utility’s AMI Smart Grid deployment, including remote monitoring and configuration.

via Silver Spring Networks Announces Contract Extension with FPL | Green Street Journal.

Utility Integration Solutions, Inc. (UISOL), the utility industry business integration specialist and the leading provider of demand response management systems (DRMS), today announced that Nevada investor-owned electric utility NV Energy, Inc., has chosen the company’s DRBizNet™ DRMS software application to expand its statewide demand response (DR) and demand side management programs.

via NV Energy Selects UISOL’s Demand Response Management Software — LAFAYETTE, Calif., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ –.

eMeter, the global leader in Smart Grid Management software, today announced that The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a Taiwanese research organization that serves to strengthen the technological competitiveness of Taiwan, has selected eMeter’s EnergyIP information platform and customer Web portal for use in its upcoming Smart Grid pilot program.

Energy IP was chosen for its reliability and scalability, and proven success in the market. “eMeter is definitely one of the global leaders in providing information management software for the Smart Grid and that’s why ITRI invites eMeter to join this pilot project”, said the project leader, Dr. Eager Huang, of ITRI.

via eMeter Establishes Its Smart Grid Presence in Asia with… — SAN MATEO, Calif. and TAIPEI, Taiwan, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ –.

This fully integrated combination of EV charging station, smart grid connectivity software and solar, renewable energy generation array represents the next, logical evolutionary step in the developing movement to transition a portion of the transportation sector away from traditional fossil fuels and toward cleaner and renewable domestic energy sources, including solar, wind, and geothermal.

via EV-Charge America Unveils Southeast America’s First Level II ‘ J1772 Enabled EV Charging Station System with an Integrated 20kW Solar Carport Array | Earth Times News.

The worldwide Smart Grid Operations Management software and services market will grow by greater than 65% over the next five years, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1 percent.  A new report published by ARC Advisory Group projects this substantial growth will result from a concurrent wave of new technology and worldwide infrastructure spending driven by sovereign investment programs.  These sovereign investment programs are heavily focused on technology to improve grid reliability, efficiency, and information management capabilities.  Smart grid operations management software is a critical element in the development of more efficient and reliable electric grids.

via Smart Grid Operations Management Software Market to Grow 65% over Next Five Years – ARC Press Center.

Iberdrola, Spain’s energy group and electricity utility has selected Itron, a provider of smart metering and smart grid solutions, for the first phase of its smart metering program.

Officials with Itron said that the company will be responsible for the development and integration of a meter management system, including head-end and meter data management software, as well as smart meters.

via Spain’s Iberdrola Selects Itron.

Energy management specialist Landis+Gyr has been awarded a contract to provide electricity, gas and district heat smart metering for the Finnish city of Lappeenranta.

The agreement with local energy company Lappeenrannan Energiaverkot will see the deployment of Landis+Gyr’s Gridstream solution for multi-energy smart meters, smart metering software and meter reading services.

via Landis+Gyr to roll out smart meters in Finland | Power Generation and Distribution.

Solekai Systems was founded in 2002, and quickly became one of San Diego’s fastest-growing privately held companies. By specializing in digital video software development and engineering services (set-top boxes and related hardware) for customers like Sony Electronics, TiVo, Pioneer, and DirectTV, Solekai’s revenue soared by 1,536 percent from 2003 to 2006—to $18.2 million.

That was enough to land Solekai on Inc. magazine’s 2007 list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies, but Solekai founder and president Martin Caniff has become more circumspect since then. Nowadays Solekai executives say the company’s revenue falls somewhere between $20 million and $100 million a year. Today digital video development still accounts for roughly 70 percent of Solekai’s work, and vice president of engineering Tim McConnell says the company’s software is running in more than 50 million devices. But Caniff and longtime friend Marco Thompson, who joined Solekai as CTO in February, tell me they are now targeting a huge new opportunity for exponential growth that’s ideally suited for the company’s 75 employees.

It’s called the smart grid.

via San Diego’s Solekai Moves to Catch Wave of Smart Grid Software Development | Xconomy.

Earning energy independence is no longer the headache of the statesmen alone. The masses are equally interested to learn about the ways in which they can reduce energy consumption and cut on their energy budget.

In a recent survey, international research firm Parks Associates (News – Alert) has pointed out that, more than 80 percent of U.S. consumers are interested in learning about how to cut their energy costs, 50 percent of U.S. households are very interested in an energy-monitoring device, and 80-85 percent of households are willing to pay $80-$100 for cost-saving equipment if they are guaranteed to save 10-30 percent off their monthly electricity bill.

via Watteco Unveils New Software to Ease Home Energy Management for Consumers.

Microsoft's Hohm website, an online service designed to make it easier for people to figure out how energy efficient their house is (and how to make it better), has become a great deal more useful with the new addition of real estate data. Now, anyone in the US can enter their ZIP code and get an instant, if approximate, evaluation of their house’s efficiency.

via Microsoft Hohm home efficiency site slowly becoming useful.

Swiss engineering company ABB Ltd. (NYSE ADR: ABB) today (Wednesday) announced it will buy software maker Ventyx for over $1 billion to strengthen its position among energy management competitors by offering smart grid electricity distribution.

via ABB Ltd. Buys Smart Grid Software Maker to Jump Ahead in Energy Management Industry.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) Poland and WINUEL SA (subsidiary of Sygnity Group), today announced the first Polish Smart Metering software package to enable intelligent electricity use in more than 15 million households in Poland. The solution was developed jointly with the IBM Software Laboratory in Krakow.

Based on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) using WINUEL’s programming components and IBM WebSphere, the new solution allows both utility companies and clients to better manage their energy consumption by ensuring detailed, accurate and real-time monitoring at both sides. As a result, utility companies will be able to measure and bill their clients depending on actual energy use.

via IBM Poland and WINUEL Develop the First Polish Smart Metering Software Package — KRAKOW and WARSAW, Poland, May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ –.

OPower’s task in the world is to make boring energy information interesting.

The Arlington, Va.-based start-up has developed a software system that analyzes years of utility data and provides recommendations to consumers on how to shave their bills. Next month, utility ComEd will install an updated version of the system to about 120,000 customers who are receiving smart meters.

via OPower looks to add human touch to smart grid | Green Tech – CNET News.

Google PowerMeter now in prototype, will receive information from utility smart meters and energy management devices and provide anyone who signs up access to her home electricity consumption right on her iGoogle homepage. The graph on the right shows how someone could use this information to figure out how much energy is used by different household activities.

via Google PowerMeter Review.

GreenBox like Google is working on the software side of things with their web-based software. Greenbox is a web-based solution that enables households to track, understand, and manage their home energy usage and environmental footprint. greenbox is already available for utilities. read more about greenbox on their website http://www.getgreenbox.com/

via GreenBox Review.

Sensinode Ltd. today announced that Nanostack 2.0, the company’s standards compliant communications protocol stack for IP-enabled smart objects, has been licensed by Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI). This strategic collaboration will make Nanostack(TM) 2.0 available to developers using TI’s low-power RF solutions in applications such as energy metering, lighting and building control systems.

via Sensinode Ltd. Announces Software License Agreement With Texas Instruments – MarketWatch.

Echelon Corp. says it has begun shipping its LonWorks 2.0 platform, which product manufacturers and system integrators use to create and implement control networks and smart energy management solutions.

Based on the ISO/IEC 14908 body of standards, LonWorks 2.0 is fully compatible with the 90 million intelligent LonWorks devices already deployed worldwide, the company says. With LonWorks 2.0, the installation process has been streamlined by eliminating the device credits normally associated with Echelon’s LNS network operating system.

via Renew Grid: Content / FYI / Echelon LonWorks 2.0 Platform Hits The Marketplace.

Westar Energy selected eMeter to provide the necessary smart grid software to commence its SmartStar program in Lawrence, Kan.

Designed to give customers better insight into electricity use and cost information, the SmartStar program became a reality with a $19 million grant from the Department of Energy’s Smart Grid Investment Grant program.

via Westar Energy chooses eMeter software to help with SmartStar Program – Utility Automation/Electric Light & Power.