PECO Issues Letters of Intent to Smart Grid / Smart Meter Vendors
On July 9, 2010 PECO took the next step in bringing Smart Grid / Smart Meter technology to customers by offering letters of intent to an Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) communications vendor and meter vendors. PECO and these organizations now will begin negotiating final contracts.
Specifically, PECO has issued letters of intent to Sensus, Elster and Landis and Gyr, following a highly competitive process. Specifically,
- Communications Vendor: Sensus, a manufacturer of electric, natural gas and water meters and meter communications systems and software. The project includes all of the equipment and services required to provide a two-way communications network throughout the PECO service territory. Work is scheduled to begin immediately.
- Meter Vendors: Sensus, Elster and Landis and Gyr will provide the first 600,000 Smart Meters to be installed for PECO customers. All meters will be capable of two-way communications, able to record customer usage on at least an hourly basis and provide PECO with the ability to offer time-of-use rates and real time pricing to customers. Work is scheduled to begin immediately.
PECO’s $650 million Smart Grid / Smart Meter initiative is one of the largest investments in the company’s more than 100 year history and will help customers understand how they use energy and improve service. Work is underway at PECO to deploy Smart Meters for all of our 1.6 million electric customers during the next 10 years -- 5 years earlier than required under Pennsylvania law thanks to $200 million stimulus grant awarded by the US Department of Energy. We are currently in the process of finalizing our roll-out plan but expect to begin installing smart meters in our service territory by early 2012.
The two-way information system created by the Smart Grid / Smart Meter network is designed to improve local electric service reliability and also help advance use of renewable energy sources. Smart Meter technology will equip customers with the information they need to better understand how they use energy and how they can save energy. With this technology PECO also will be able to offer customers enhanced rates and other ‘dynamic pricing’.
All Pennsylvania utilities are required to install Smart Meters for customers as part of Pennsylvania’s 2008 Act 129. Act 129 also requires utilities to help customers reduce their overall energy use and their energy demand during the 100 highest use hours of the year. As part of this, PECO has created PECO Smart Ideas – our full suite of energy efficiency and demand response programs for residential, business, government and non-profit customers. And, PECO’s Smart Grid / Smart Meter initiative will leverage this new technology to help customers save energy and money.
By helping customers understand and manage their energy use, these projects also support PECO’s ongoing environmental efforts. PECO’s other environmental projects include the installation of a green roof and new Crown Lights system on the company’s Center City headquarters; the opening of PECO’s first ‘green building’ in West Chester, recently awarded silver certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); improvements to secure LEED certification for many other company work sites; the increased use of hybrid and biodiesel vehicles; and support for community environmental projects.
These efforts are a component of Exelon 2020: A Low-Carbon Roadmap, the comprehensive environmental strategy of PECO’s parent company. Exelon 2020 sets the goal of reducing, offsetting or displacing more than 15 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2020. This is more than the company’s current annual carbon footprint and is equivalent to taking nearly 3 million cars off American roads and highways.