smart meters
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing — still isn’t, in fact — but the transition to smart electricity meters in the US is moving steadily forward. According to the most recent tally by the Institute for Electric Efficiency (IEE), nearly one in every three households in the US now has
smart meters
Both the safety and economics of smart meters are stirring up controversy in Quebec, where the region’s energy regulatory agency is holding hearings on one utility’s plan to roll out the technology on a wide scale. The Régie de l’énergie this week began to hear testimony on
smart meters
The City of Big Shoulders will be doing some heavy smart-grid lifting in the near future, as its main utility company embarks on a 10-year, $2.6 billion upgrade to the electricity system. Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) says the project will deliver something like a local economic stimulus to Chicago, generating
smart meters
The city of Hutchinson in Minnesota is looking to get smarter about its electricity and gas distribution systems, and it’s turned to a North Carolina-based advanced metering company to help. With the support of Sensus, the Hutchinson Utility Commission plans to deploy more than 7,000 iCon® electric meters
smart meters
The city of Sao Paulo in Brazil is looking at bringing its energy infrastructure into the 21st century by adding smart meters and more to identify problems before they happen. The first-of-its-kind smart-grid research and development project will be spearheaded by three companies: GE, Trilliant and AES Eletropaulo. The project
smart meters
Metering companies Itron and Landis+Gyr plan to use each other’s smart-grid communication technologies in their advanced energy meters. The move is designed to give utility companies more choices when deploying smart electricity meters to their customers. “Our customers have asked for multi-vendor systems,” said Russ Vanos, vice president
smart meters
Major meter makers have come together to form the Smart Meter Manufacturers’ Association of America (SMMAA). The non-profit will focus on advocacy work and education on the topic of smart meters. Founding members include Echelon, Elster, GE, Itron, Landis+Gyr and Sensus. Each company will have representatives on the board,
smart meters
More than five million advanced “smart” electricity meters have been installed across the US as part of the $787 billion Recovery Act bill passed in early 2009. Nearly 90 percent of those new meters can be found in just eight states: Florida, Texas, California, Idaho, Arizona, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Nevada.
smart meters
The Italian company that brought smart energy meters and remote management for the smart-grid to Italy and Spain is going overseas and bringing its technology to Brazil. Enel, with its Spanish subsidiary Endesa, is developing a pilot remote management project in Brazil, using the same metering technology that Endesa is
smart meters
You know energy conservation has gone mainstream when companies start holding contests in that area offering big prizes to “ordinary folks.” A new “Biggest Energy Saver” contest is actually two contests, rather than one. Starting mid-July, Texas residents in the Oncor and CenterPoint Energy service areas will be able to
smart meters
Say one thing for smart meters and their vocal opponents: it’s certainly helped liven up conversations about some formerly dry subjects. When, for example, could you have previously imagined the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) being heckled at a Silicon Valley event … while discussing the minutiae of
smart meters
Itron has begun installing the first of one million data logging modules for Alberta-based ATCO Gas. Over the course of the four-year deployment, Itron will manage all aspects of the effort, including project management and endpoint installation. Itron’s gas metering solution will be used the modules and their remote