Hydro One Wins 2011 Utilimetrics Excellence in Project Management Award
Utilimetrics
Hydro One is the 2011 recipient of the Utilimetrics Excellence in Project Management Award. "This prestigious award honors a utility that demonstrates superior achievement in innovation," said Joel Hoiland, Utilimetrics CEO. "The Awards Committee received many impressive entries from utilities whose AMI/Smart Grid projects are under way or complete."

Hydro One has led the pace in smart meter deployment in Ontario, Canada. Almost all of Hydro One's 1.2 million residential and small business customers now have a smart meter and over the past year, 1.05 million customers have made the switch to Time-of-Use pricing — one of the few utilities to achieve its target despite Hydro One's challenging service territory twice the size of Texas with roughly half the population. Customers are now receiving bills based on actual consumption for the billing period under normal conditions and have access to their hourly usage information via the Internet the day after they use it — something never thought possible just a few short years ago. "This success was achieved on schedule and on budget. An accomplishment only made possible by our exceptional team of employees and project partners, Trilliant and Capgemini," explained Rick Stevens, Hydro One vice president asset management.

"Trilliant congratulates Hydro One for winning the prestigious Utilimetrics award," said Andy White, chairman and CEO of Trilliant, "We are proud to be a partner of a leading utility that has demonstrated superior achievements in innovation."

Hydro One will be presented with the award Sept. 26 during the Autovation Opening General Session.

Winners of the Consumer Outreach Award, Best Practices Award and Utilimetrics Distinguished Service Award will be announced at the Opening General Session. Please join Utilimetrics as we honor the best of the best. More

Enter to Win $50 — Submit Your Vote for the Utilimetrics Members' Choice Award
Utilimetrics
Is there anything better than a reliable vendor who truly values your business? A supplier that exhibits qualities such as exceptional honesty, unrivaled quality and world-class customer service?

But how do you recognize such a valuable business partner?

Nominate them for the 2011 Members' Choice Award at Autovation, of course. Submit your vote now by clicking here.

And the best part? Each vendor you submit for the Members' Choice Award enters your name in a drawing for a $50 gift card. The Members' Choice Award winner will be announced at Autovation.

Still looking for that great vendor? Find the best suppliers to the utility industry all year long on the Smart Utility Marketplace.

Contest rules: Industry vendor employees and family members of employees are not eligible to submit the company with which they are affiliated. Ineligible entries will be voided. Need not be present to win.More

Welcome New Members
Utilimetrics
Be sure to take advantage of your Utilimetrics membership benefits.

Precision Data Systems
Smart Grid Advisors
Utility Partners of AmericaMore

Utilimetrics Election Results Announced
Utilimetrics
The electronic ballots have been counted, and we're pleased to announce the 2011-2012 board of directors. Click here to view results.More

3 Critical Factors for Successful AMI Deployment
By Jeff Trampleasure, vice president of operations, Metadigm Services
Utilimetrics
Today, 25 states have smart metering legislation or policies, and utility companies across the U.S. are updating their infrastructure to adhere by the mandates already in place, or inevitably on the way. There are roughly 150 million electric meters in the U.S. and the total installed base of AMR units in the U.S. is estimated between 75 million to 80 million units, or more than 50 percent of all approximate 150 million electric meters. However, only a small fraction are replaced with smart meters.

The investments utilities are making in smart grid services are substantial — $50 billion in the U.S. alone, according to authors Marcy Lowe, Hua Fan and Gery Gereffi's 2011 report, U.S. Smart Grid. More

Utilities Invited to Visit Autovation Expo for Free
Utilimetrics
Utility professionals are invited to visit the Autovation expo for free Sept. 26 and Sept. 27.

The industry's leading suppliers will have booths at the expo and will be available to help utility professionals find solutions to the challenges they currently face or expect to face in the future. Exhibitors include meter manufacturers, software providers, systems integrators, installation and service organizations, in-home device manufacturers and distributors, home area network suppliers, technology manufacturers, communication technology suppliers, electronic component manufacturers, outage management system vendors, customer information system suppliers, consultants, billing service providers, transmission and distribution manufacturers, suppliers of related products and services and many others. Click here for a list of exhibitors.

The free exhibit hall pass does not include education sessions, general sessions, breakfasts, lunches, networking receptions or drink tickets. However, utilities may participate in these activities by paying the conference fee, which is $995 for members and $1,400 for nonmembers.

To qualify for the free exhibit hall pass, verification of utility employment (business card or identification) must be provided. Consultants and vendors who represent utilities do not qualify. More

Avoid Long Lines, Register Now
Utilimetrics
Although we do our best to keep the Autovation registration process moving, sometimes attendees have to wait in line. Avoid the lines by registering now.

You'll still need to stop by registration to pick up your materials. Registration hours are:

Sunday, Sept. 25 7 a.m.–6 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 26 7 a.m.–6 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 27 7 a.m.–6 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 28 7 a.m.–1 p.m. More

Thanks to Our Sponsors
Utilimetrics
No matter how often we say it, we can't say it enough. Thanks to the Autovation 2012 sponsors.

Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative Selects Tantalus for Smart Grid
Tantalus
Tantalus, a leading provider of real‐time smart grid communications, recently announced that Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative has selected Tantalus to provide advanced metering infrastructure functionality for the approximately 40,000 meters on their system. The new infrastructure will replace an aging, one-way automated meter reading system. The Tantalus system is expected to be fully operational within the next three years.More

DTE Energy Introduces New iPhone App to Get Real-Time Outage Information
DTE Energy
DTE Energy has introduced a new interactive iPhone app for customers to access a variety of up-to-the-minute information, including real-time outage information from their mobile devices. The DTE Energy Outage Center app is available from the Apple iTunes App store or Apple.com free of charge.More

Energate Appoints Debbie Rachlis as Vice President of Sales
Energate
Energate, Inc., a leading, innovative provider of residential demand response for utilities and home energy management solutions for their customers, announced the appointment of Debbie Rachlis as its new vice president of sales. Reporting to Energate CEO Niraj Bhargava, Rachlis will be responsible for managing Energate's growing sales team and directing sales strategies to capitalize on accelerating market demand for field-proven residential demand response solutions from her office in Chicago.More

IEEE Introduces Advanced Metering Standards for the First Time in India
Market Press Release
IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards setting body within IEEE, officially introduced two new standards IEEE 1701TM and IEEE 1702TM, to create a multisource plug and play communications environment for implementation of diverse smart metering devices, for the first time in India. While deployment of smart meters and AMI has been recognized as an important steps towards smart grid implementation and enhancing power efficiency in India, the issue of interoperability has significantly impacted the pace and quantity of smart meter roll out.More

Wyoming Moves Forward on State Energy Policy
Casper Star-Tribune
Wyoming will take the first steps toward a state energy policy, Gov. Matt Mead's policy chief recently told state legislators. The steps will include the formation of an energy sub-cabinet consisting of several department heads and representatives of other organizations, and a quest for an energy policy framework contained in a document of "elegant simplicity," Shawn Reese said. More

India Set to Leap-Frog Ahead with 'Smart Grid' Energy Strategy
International Business Times
An estimated 1 million people around the world are moving to cities each week. In India, its 20 people every minute. Experts predict the world's cities will double by 2050 — from 3.3 billion people today, to 6.4 billion in 39 years. Synonymous with this growth is the need for sustainable, reliant resources — the need for smarter energy. According to the International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook, 404 million people in India currently do not have access to electricity. More

US Manufacturers Urge Passage of Energy Efficiency Bill in Senate
Platts
A group of 20 major U.S. manufacturers and a major retailer are urging U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to take up a bill designed to promote energy efficiency measures, despite Reid's recent announcement that the chamber was too busy to consider energy legislation in September. More

Iowa Gets $20 Million Energy Grant
The Des Moines Register
Iowa has received a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study and promote bioenergy, wind energy, energy efficiency and energy policy. The project will be led by Dr. Robert Brown at Iowa State University, who already heads ISU's renewable energy studies. The new grant, awarded to smaller states that historically receive lesser shares of NSF grants, is a five-year award and will pull in talent from the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa, Iowa's community and private colleges and even K-12 schools.More

California Grid Operator Launches Joint Task Force to Investigate Major Power Outage
California ISO
The California Independent System Operator Corporation recently initiated a joint task force to investigate the widespread blackout that left more than a million Southern Californians without power for nearly 12 hours. In close coordination with the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, the ISO will bring together all of the utilities impacted by the outage. More

DOE Awards More Than $30 Million to Help Universities Train the Next Generation of Industrial Energy Efficiency Experts
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced more than $30 million for 24 universities in 23 states across the country to train undergraduate- and graduate-level engineering students in manufacturing efficiency to help them become the nation's next generation of industrial energy efficiency experts.More

Texas Heat Wave, August 2011: Nature and Effects of an Electricity Supply Shortage
U.S. Energy Information Administration
A prolonged August heat wave in Texas produced two periods of very high wholesale prices in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the wholesale market operator for most of the state. Day-ahead, on-peak wholesale power prices for August rose far above the range of prices seen during the previous five Augusts. More