Houston-Texas based CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) has selected San Mateo, California-based eMeter to supply software support for the roll-out of two million smart meters to begin in March 2009.
eMeter’s EnergyIP meter data management system (MDMS) will be integrated with hardware and technology from Iron (Nasdaq: ITRI) and IBM (NYSE: IBM).
Installations are expect to be completed by 2013.
It will be used to capture 15 minute usage data
provided by the smart meters and route home area network commands. The
new metering technology will encourage greater energy
conservation by giving Houston-area electric consumers the ability to
better monitor and manage their electric use and cost in near
real-time.
CenterPoint Energy tested EnergyIP in a pilot
deployment of smart meters that began in late 2006.
“In proving their capabilities, eMeter has shown that they can support our ambitious plan to provide interactive meters to all of our customers,” said Don Cortez Division VP Regulated Operations Technology for CenterPoint Energy.
With 23 million meters under contract, eMeter Corporation of provides software that enables electric, gas and water utilities to realize the full benefits of their Advanced Metering and Smart Grid initiatives.
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While deploying a smart grid is a great step towards more efficient, integrated utilities delivery, we need to keep in mind that this is not the end game.
While the smart grid is certainly more efficient, it is still a separate walled garden that does not integrate with important services, such as renewable energy. Eventually, the smart grid will need to evolve and embrace the openness of renewable energy systems, which already have the capabilities to sync and integrate with many other renewable energy systems via open energy management solutions.
I work with Fat Spaniel — http://www.fatspaniel.com — one of the companies that designs these open energy management platforms. We’re already working with thousands of energy systems across more than 15 countries to help them monitor and manage all of their renewable energy systems from one central platform. This increases the efficiency, performance and production of these systems significantly.
And now we’re working with leaders in smart grid technology, too, to help move the industry forward. We look forward to the day where the walls are broken down between traditional utilities and renewable energy systems, so that all can be managed and monitored via one integrated platform — which will not only maximize the production and efficiency of these systems, but also make them far more cost effective.
And that’s the final point I think we all need to keep in consideration — how do we achieve great systems like these in a cost effective manner? In today’s economic climate, and with significant amounts of stimulus money being proposed for the advancement of these projects, it is no longer enough just to be green. We need to be able to pair eco responsibility with fiscal responsibility, and open energy monitoring helps achieve that.