Suffolk County Water Authority Expands Rollout of Itron Automated Meter Reading Technology
Three-year contract extends mobile AMR deployment
LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — June 9, 2009 — Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today that Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) has signed a contract for Phase 2 of its automated meter reading (AMR) system, deploying Itron's mobile AMR technology. The system will extend the efficiencies gained by using Itron's AMR technology over a wide section of SCWA's service territory, ranging from suburban to rural densities.
"The success of Phase 1 of our AMR deployment exceeded our expectations and confirmed our strategy to enhance customer service and maximize operating efficiency," said Janice Tinsley-Colbert, Deputy CEO of Customer Service. "Being new to mobile AMR technologies, we relied on Itron to guide us through the installation and operation of our system. We have been very satisfied with our progress, as well as the exceptional performance of our AMR system, and look forward to the additional benefits we will receive from Phase 2 of this project."
Phase 2 of the project is a three-year contract to extend AMR into portions of SCWA's 353,000 remaining metered customers. SCWA is located in New York State and will automate meter reading in additional areas of its Long Island service territory.
SCWA is experiencing multiple benefits from Phase 1 and wants to expand those benefits to encompass a wider customer base. SCWA's mobile AMR system will reduce costs associated with meter reading, meter shop maintenance and operations within the administrative and customer call centers. SCWA is also looking forward to collecting peak- and non-peak information to create a historical database. Further, SCWA is planning to use the leak detection and reverse flow capabilities of the Itron AMR system as a means to improve customer service and optimize the distribution system.
Itron mobile AMR systems use a vehicle equipped with a portable radio transceiver and computer to gather consumption and tamper data from water, electricity and gas radio-based endpoints and download that information back at the utility where it is used for monthly billing, as well as historical data trending and analysis. The mobile AMR system is part of Itron's industry-leading ChoiceConnect™ data collection suite.
"We are pleased that Suffolk County Water Authority has chosen to roll its mobile AMR system deeper into their service territory. Their experience with Phase 1 proved the value that an AMR system can offer in improving operations and enhancing customer service," said Lou Gust, Itron vice president of water sales and marketing. "The announcement of Phase 2 proves Suffolk County Water Authority's commitment to continuing its tradition of high customer approval ratings. Through this process we have developed a long-term partnership with Suffolk County Water Authority and look forward to delivering greater satisfaction to them."
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