Raleigh, NC – June 17 , 2002 – ABB, a global leader in power and automation technologies, has partnered with Itron, a leading technology provider to the global energy and water industries, to offer a MeterIT ABB A3 ALPHA® electronic revenue meter equipped with an under-the-cover Itron 50ESS ERT®. ABB and Itron converged technologies to offer an innovative automatic meter reading (AMR) solution to fill a gap in the needs of the marketplace. This integrated technology enables Itron handheld, mobile and network AMR systems to gather billing data from demand and simple time-of-use (TOU) metered accounts.
The A3 ALPHA meter with 50ESS ERT eliminates the need for meter readers to visit meter locations to manually read or probe the meter. This is particularly beneficial when meters are located in hazardous or inaccessible areas, or when those meters are located in areas already served by an Itron handheld, mobile or network AMR system.
“The A3 ALPHA meter with 50ESS ERT will save electric utilities time, effort and money while allowing utilities to reach and serve a broader customer base,” stated Jim Cunningham, marketing manager for ABB. “Data from demand, TOU, and reactive metered accounts can be collected efficiently and reliably as part of the regular mobile reading route – taking AMR system functionality to a higher level. ABB and Itron’s integrated AMR solution fills a gap in the marketplace.”
The A3 ALPHA meter with 50ESS ERT automatically performs scheduled demand resets. Billing data is retrieved directly from the meter register by the 50ESS ERT and transmitted to the reading device. For demand accounts, the consumption value (kWh), the maximum demand value, and the date of the last demand reset are transmitted. The 50ESS ERT can also retrieve data from three TOU rates and has TOU options to collect energy only or specific combinations of TOU energy and demand. Itron is upgrading its meter reading software platforms for the 50ESS to associate multiple ERT IDs with a single meter. Utilities will not need to spend time and money modifying their current CIS systems to reap the cost savings and efficiency gains this product delivers.
“The ABB A3 ALPHA meter equipped with an Itron 50ESS ERT will deliver exceptional value to our electric utility customers, particularly those who have deployed Itron’s mobile AMR systems,” said Russ Vanos, vice president and general manager of Itron’s Electric Systems Business Unit. “This product eliminates the need for meter readers to revisit each commercial account to visually read or probe those TOU and demand meters. Data from these accounts can now be gathered as part of the regular mobile reading route, enabling our utility customers to extend the value of their Itron AMR systems even further.”