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Electric Energy T&D - Index

Electric Energy T&D - EE Magazine March / April 2009 - Index

Southern Company Reaches Milestone in Smart Meter
Program with 1 Million Installations
atlanta, Ga – Southern Company announced that it has installed 1
million Smart Meters, achieving a milestone in an advanced electricity
metering program that will eventually see 4.4 million meters in place
for its customers across the Southeast.
The program - which integrates advanced metering, communications
and other innovative technologies to provide superior customer
service at reduced operating costs - is producing direct benefits for
the customer, the environment and the company while positioning
the company to employ additional features of the technology in the
future.
The initiative began in January 008 and will deploy Smart Meters
for customers of Southern Company’s electric utility subsidiaries
Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Mississippi Power.
The company is installing about 4,500 meters each day.
In addition to reducing operating costs that can help keep rates
lower for customers, the company expects the program to lessen
environmental impact. Southern Company, for example, expects to
reduce the vehicle fleet used for meter reading by at least 500, saving
1 .5 million miles of driving annually and producing direct benefits
in lower vehicle emissions.
Once fully deployed, the Smart Meter program may also allow
customers to manage energy consumption, helping them to be
more efficient by providing detailed energy usage information and
innovative rate options.
“Southern Company continues to be an industry leader in adopting
technology that benefits customers while reducing environmental
impact,” said Southern Company CEO David Ratcliffe. “The company’s
progress in the Smart Meter program underscores our commitment to
customer service and environmental responsibility.”
Installing Smart Meters throughout Southern Company’s territory
lays the groundwork for many potential technology opportunities and
benefits in the future as well. Those include:
• Innovative billing and rate options
• Remote programmability of meters
• Power quality monitoring
• Prepaid power options
Southern Company’s program is based on the Sensus FlexNet®
Advanced Metering Infrastructure network, which uses advanced
technology that allows for a range of features, including meter reading
for monthly billing, two-way communication between customers
and the company, outage detection, and remote reconnects and
disconnects.
With 4.4 million customers and more than 4 ,000 megawatts of
generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:SO) is
6 I March-April 2009 Issue
the premier energy company serving the Southeast. A leading U.S.
producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in
four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well
as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company
brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and
retail electric prices that are significantly below the national average.
Southern Company has been listed the top ranking U.S. electric
service provider in customer satisfaction for nine consecutive years
by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web
site at www.southerncompany.com.
circle 21 on reader Service card
ABB wins major BC Hydro retrofit contract in Canada
vancouver, bc – ABB, the leading power and automation technology
company, announced today that it has been awarded an $18 million
contract by BC Hydro at the utility’s G.M. Shrum (GMS) power
generation station located at Hudson’s Hope, British Columbia.
The work is to be carried out in three stages, with the first phase to
be completed by August 009 and the balance of the work by 010
and 011, respectively.
The contract calls for ABB to carry out a retrofit of station service
equipment at the GMS facility. Being executed by ABB’s Service team,
with overall project management to be handled by the Hydro and
Electrical Balance of Plant center of excellence, the project includes
the supply of ABB medium voltage and low-voltage switchgear, drytype
transformers, cables and other equipment. ABB will also be
conducting system studies and providing complete engineering,
installation and commissioning services.
“ABB is one of our preferred suppliers,” said Boyd Mason, project
manager at BC Hydro. “ABB made significant efforts to understand
both our technical and commercial needs, and clearly demonstrated
that it understood our requirements and risks, and we are confident
that they will deliver. Another factor supporting our decision to go
with ABB was that they exceeded our design requirements and
incorporated a number of additional key safety features into the
design of their solution supporting BC Hydro’s continual commitment
to safety – our number one value.”
“Among our greatest challenges with this contract,” said Greg
Farthing, vice president of Sales and Marketing for ABB’s Power
Products and Power Systems, “was to develop effective ways of
upgrading BC Hydro’s system without interrupting operations at its
plant, as well as to complete the work on schedule, safely and with
respect for the environment. We are confident that we will meet all
of these demands, and in so doing, be in a position to win similar
contracts during the years to come.”
As the third largest electric utility in Canada, BC Hydro (www.bchydro.
com) serves customers in an area that is home to over 94 percent
of British Columbia’s population. Through its world-class integrated