• Nation's largest municipal utility to expand advanced metering infrastructure smart meters to operate on AT&T's nationwide wireless data network.
JACKSON, MS, Feb. 7, 2007 -- The largest municipal utility in the U.S., the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), has chosen SmartSynch to expand its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) serving its commercial and industrial (C&I) customers, the company announced yesterday. SmartSynch, a global leader in public wireless smart metering technology, will provide 6,000 SmartSynch C&I SmartMeter units through an agreement awarded to SmartSynch via competitive bid.
"Smart meters" measure how much electricity is used and when, and allow utilities to retrieve the data real-time via public wireless networks and the Internet. The utilities' commercial and industrial customers may in turn tailor their daily energy consumption around this data, thus creating potential for reducing their monthly electricity bill and, at a broader level, contributing to global energy conservation.
SmartSynch is the only company in this industry to utilize public wireless networks on such a grand scale, having successfully introduced multiple AMI solutions employing the national wireless data network of Cingular Wireless, now the new AT&T. AT&T operates the largest digital wireless data network in the U.S.
LADWP has already purchased 9,000 SmartSynch C&I SmartMeters as part of an earlier deployment initiative completed in 2004. Since implementing SmartSynch's technology, LADWP has seen a reduction in total electricity consumption by more than 5% for which the City of Los Angeles Quality and Productivity Commission presented LADWP with a Productivity Improvement Award for its role in facilitating efficiency, cost savings, and new revenue development for the city. The additional units will further reduce consumption and allow the utility to better evaluate the technology's performance.
"Through our initial deployment for LADWP, we were able to demonstrate how our innovative technology and reliable service can provide local businesses with the detailed usage data they need to more effectively manage energy consumption," said Stephen Johnston, CEO of SmartSynch. "Increasing their smart meter count to 15,000 allows us to put these same unique strengths to work for a broader audience, and in turn achieve even greater results."
"We selected SmartSynch because they are a proven leader in the industry, and have consistently demonstrated the ability to build advanced technology that is reliable and performs well," said George Chen, AMI Project Manager at LADWP. "From a value standpoint, we like the idea of leveraging AT&T's existing wireless data network infrastructure to meet our advanced metering infrastructure needs."
LADWP provides water and electricity services to 3.8 million residents and businesses in Los Angeles. The utility serves 640,000 water customers and 1.4 million electricity customers. Recently, M2M magazine presented LADWP with an M2M Value Chain Golf Medal Award for the utility's implementation of M2M (machine-to-machine) wireless technology. SmartSynch was also recognized as an enabler of LADWP's advanced metering system.
With headquarters in Jackson, MS, SmartSynch (www.smartsynch.com) is the leading provider of wireless smart meters throughout North America -- having sold over 90,000 SmartMeters to over 50 major utilities and distribution companies. SmartSynch's core product, the SmartMeter System™, facilitates real-time acquisition of critical usage and rate data from electricity meters via public wireless networks and the Internet. During the past six years, SmartSynch has deployed more smart meters with embedded public wireless communications than all other companies in North America combined, with over 35,000 Megawatts and over $15 billion of revenue serviced annually by SmartSynch technology.
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Also see:
-- "SmartSynch to Develop Key Component for Elster Two-Way AMI System EnergyAxis System to Use SmartSynch WAN Technology"
-- "Itron Announces Development Partnership with SmartSynch to Provide Public Wireless Communications Technology for OpenWay™ AMI Solution"
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