Many operators in the utility industry are looking for new ways to maximize their investment in communication networks while ensuring reliable, secure data transmission. There are a variety of communications solutions, the two most common being wireless technology and wired options, such as copper and fiber-optic cable. While both have a place in utility market Continue reading →
utility
Itron said Southern California Edison (SCE), an electric utility serving central, coastal and southern California, has completed installation of its four millionth smart meter. SCE has already deployed Itron’s smart meters and associated smart metering systems which are supporting a variety of programs and services that enable consumers to manage their electricity usage and save Continue reading →
Glendale Water and Power (GWP) has selected Efacec ACS to provide its PRISM advanced outage management system (OMS) and distribution management system (DMS) solutions as part of the utility’s smart grid program, which is already using Efacec’s PRISM Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system already in place at the utility. via Glendale Utility Opts Continue reading →
The Wabash Valley Power Association (WVPA) is the first to go live with the Siemens Demand Response Management System (DRMS) solution, which Siemens reports enables the utility to “shed load across multiple distribution systems utilizing several different demand response programs, verify load shed, calculate baselines, and automate customer billing and settlement without cumbersome processes that Continue reading →
Smart meter opt-out mandates are popping up across the United States, threatening utility smart grid efforts. But the key to data security, one of the major hurdles to consumer acceptance, may be held by a set of privacy rules debuting in Southern California. Opt-out requirements aren’t new for utilities, but their rapid spread could slow Continue reading →
Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC), an electric distribution cooperative serving a five-county area in Southwest Florida in the US, has chosen Oracle utilities solutions to upgrade its existing Oracle Utilities customer care and billing application. The utility has selected Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management to improve its meter-to-cash process, enhancing master data synchronization, batch billing, Continue reading →
Solar has suddenly become much more important in Southern California because of the outage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), California’s third biggest investor owned utility, could lose fifteen percent to twenty percent loss of its base load electricity. “SDG&E, along with the California transmission system operator Continue reading →
Promises about the smart grid and smart meters have been pitched to consumers for nearly a decade now, but it’s the utility companies who have benefited most from these technologies. That’s starting to change, according to Powering the People 2.0, a conference hosted yesterday by the Edison Foundation and the Institute for Electric Efficiency, at Continue reading →
A growing number of utilities and smart grid vendors have signed onto Green Button — the White House-Energy Department program that’s pushing for a simple, universal format that allows electricity customers to access their energy usage data. This week, nine utilities committed to providing Green Button to its customers. Green Button, which launched in January, Continue reading →
The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) is trying to find out how real consumers think and feel about aspects of grid modernization and what motivates them. The SGCC’s “Consumer Pulse Research Program Wave 2″ report provides some fairly straightforward conclusions from the organization’s recent consumer survey and some nuance, so I’d recommend reading it yourself. Continue reading →
A new report to help utility executives select the right solutions for their enterprise smart grid initiatives has been released by Groom Energy Solutions. While the guide ranks what Groom sees as the top 10 enterprise smart grid vendors, it also offers a framework to help utilities assess their needs and match them with the Continue reading →
Metadigm Services, a utility services company specializing in Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) services to utilities, today announced a significant extension to its existing contract with Oncor Electric Delivery, the largest distribution and transmission system in Texas. via Oncor Electric Delivery Expands AMI Contract with Metadigm Services – MarketWatch.
Although some utility providers, such as British Gas and First: Utility have already started to deploy the smart meters, it’s not until 2014 that the devices will be rolled out en masse. IMS Research has also predicted that fitting in-home displays, also known as IHDs, will generate around £400 million in revenue over the next Continue reading →
Walk into this Smart Grid laboratory, and you’ll enter into an indoor forest of sturdy utility poles, all mounted with the standard gray equipment you might see on power lines running through your neighborhood. The half-size poles offer a squirrel’s-eye view of the vaunted Smart Grid, as the gear might look to a person lifted Continue reading →
Telvent GIT, S.A., a leading real-time IT solutions and information provider for a sustainable world, announced today that it received the Smart Metering Service Provider Award at the Smart Metering UK & Europe Summit 2012. The award recognizes Telvent’s substantial contributions to utility providers, benefitting both the utilities and their customers. via Telvent Recognized For Continue reading →
Cooper Power Systemsand Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today the availability of the Itron CENTRON II meter integrated with Cooper Power Systems Power Line Carrier (PLC) communications technology. This combined offering increases metering platform options and provides greater flexibility for utilities implementing large-scale metering systems. Cooper Power Systems and Itron built on the foundation of Continue reading →
Like the utility industry itself, the Department of Energy has long operated in siloed departments. Some months ago, several of them developed a shared vision of the US electricity system in 2035. Although the DOE originally developed the vision for internal use, it has decided to take the show on the road and pitch it Continue reading →
Telvent has received the Smart Metering Service Provider Award, which recognizes the company’s contributions to utility providers and its success within smart metering rollouts. Telvent was chosen by a panel of impartial industry experts, representing 10 companies from across Europe, including representatives from Vattenfall and Fortum, both of which have utilized Telvent’s smart metering solutions. Continue reading →
Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. (CUC), the public electric utility which serves Grand Cayman, is building a new utility network infrastructure using the Sensus FlexNetTM advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system for residential and commercial electricity customers. CUC is implementing the wireless licensed spectrum FlexNet AMI system with only two tower base stations to cover all of Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
