Smart meter company Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that it has been selected by Spain’s Iberdrola (IBE.MC), one of the world’s largest electricity utilities, for the first phase of its smart metering program.
Itron will be responsible for the development and integration of an advanced meter management system, including head-end and meter data management software, as well as smart meters.
The implementation of Iberdrola’s smart meter program is focused on developing a new open and interoperable solution based on the PRIME telecommunications protocol.
The initial deployment will see the delivery of 100,000 meters to the city of Castellón, Spain, with the potential to expand to ten million meters countrywide. The first phase of the project is expected to run from July until the end of 2010.
This project, one of the largest smart metering initiatives in Europe, marks a significant step for Iberdrola toward the building of the smart grid. Itron will be the unique supplier of the head-end and meter data management software for this first phase of the project, along with other manufacturers that will also supply PRIME-compliant smart meters.
The PRIME ALLIANCE (PoweRline Intelligent Metering Evolution) focuses on the development of a new open, public and non-proprietary telecom solution. The end objective of PRIME is to establish a complete set of standards on an international level that will permit interoperability among equipment and systems from different manufacturers Power line communications is the most suitable and natural technology to provide the needed telecoms performance, even in complex underground electricity grids.
A consolidation in the smart grid sector may be getting underway according to a story published earlier this week.
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