Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A., October 25, 2004
Elster Electricity, LLC announces that the Salt River Project (SRP) Agricultural and Improvement Power District in Phoenix, Arizona has completed its pilot of the EnergyAxisr System and will begin a production-scale implementation. Elster's system features powerful two-way RF communications with Elster's electronic single phase REXr meter and A3 ALPHAr meter collector. SRP and Elster have reached an agreement for the purchase of 125,000 REX meters with the first 25,000 meters to be delivered this quarter. The deployment will enable SRP to collect data for electricity consumption and time-of-use (TOU) metering from apartments, townhouses, residential homes and small commercial businesses in the Phoenix area.
"The EnergyAxis System performed exceptionally well through all stages of our pilot," remarked John Soethe, manager of revenue cycle services for the Salt River Project. "The EnergyAxis System allowed us to gather meter reads remotely for monthly billing and for move-in/out activity. We believe the EnergyAxis System will allow SRP to improve field and back office productivity while building a platform for new customer service options." "We're extremely pleased to be working with SRP, a utility that has been consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as a leader in the electric utility industry," said Nick Klett, vice president of business development at Elster Electricity. "Since SRP realized very low meter reading costs prior to system implementation, the additional benefits that the EnergyAxis System offers were key in helping SRP build a successful business case for this production-scale implementation."
About the EnergyAxis System
Engineered for optimum flexibility and functionality, the EnergyAxis System
supports targeted deployments of hundreds or thousands of meters, up to
full-scale multi-million point installations. Its flexible two-way
communications architecture assures greater wireless coverage through the
implementation of a mesh network in which individual REX meters function as
repeaters. Since each meter can be designated to receive and transmit messages
from other meters, the EnergyAxis System works in areas where obstacles exist.
About Salt River Project http://www.srpnet.com
One of the US' largest public power utilities, SRP provides customers in
metropolitan Phoenix with electricity and water service. SRP has a generating
capacity of 6,600 megawatts and distributes power to about 800,000 customers.
SRP also uses a series of canals, reservoirs and wells to deliver about one
million acre-feet of water to residents and agricultural irrigators.
SRP is rated highest in customer satisfaction for residential electric service among electricity providers in the western U.S, according to the 2004 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates. This marks the fifth time in six years SRP has scored highest in residential customer satisfaction in the West. In addition, SRP scored highest in the nation in power quality and reliability, company image, and billing and payment.
About Elster Electricity, LLC http://
www.elsterelectricity.com
Elster Electricity, LLC, a subsidiary within E.ON's Ruhrgas Industries, offers
integrated, cost-effective solutions including advanced electricity meters,
communication solutions and metering automation systems for residential and
commercial and industrial applications. Elster Electricity (formerly ABB
Electricity Metering) is located in Raleigh, North Carolina and is a leading
provider of electricity metering products and services throughout the world.
Designed to meet the diverse electricity metering requirements of a global
customer base, Elster's metering products include advanced high accuracy ANSI
and IEC electricity meters, featuring the EnergyAxis System's intelligent
two-way communications with the new electronic REX meter and the ALPHA meter
line. Elster Electricity serves customers through a global sales force.
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For more information contact:
Gabrielle Puccio
Director, Corporate Communications
Elster Electricity, LLC
208 South Rogers Lane
Raleigh, NC 27610 USA
Tel: (919) 250-5413
Fax: (919) 250-5489
gabrielle.puccio@us.elster.com