Australian Wide Bay Water Corporation (WBWC) Awards Smart Water Metering Contract to Elster

LUTON, England and MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Elster (NYSE: ELT) announced today that Wide Bay Water Corporation (WBWC) in Australia, has selected Elster to supply V100 volumetric water meters and automated meter reading (AMR) technology over the next six months. These meters, equipped with a wireless AMR system, will support WBWC's project to manage water resources more efficiently, provide greater control over water leakage and wastage, and provide accurate usage figures.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110126/SF35872LOGO-a)

WBWC is responsible for the water and sewerage services of the area covered by Fraser Coast Regional Council in Queensland, Australia, which include the regions of Hervey Bay and Maryborough.

Available in sizes from 15mm to 40mm, Elster's V100 volumetric meters offer performance to Australian standards AS 3565 and NMI R.49. The V100 offers high accuracy, long-life, low maintenance and tamper-proof operation and can be equipped with wireless AMR systems to provide valuable data for management information as part of an advanced water metering system.

"In October 2009, WBWC received AU$5.7 million of Australian government funding through the National Water Security Plan for Cities and Towns program under the Water for the Future initiative for the Proud Mary: Modernising Maryborough's Water Systems project. This project includes work associated with the modernising and upgrade of the water reticulation system throughout Maryborough, with the aims of reducing water leakage and wastage, and providing a more effective water supply and usage monitoring system," said Phil Green, project manager for WBWC.

"With its industry knowledge and experience in delivering high-quality Smart Metering systems, selecting Elster for our water management needs was a clear choice," he added.

"WBWC will have access to accurate usage data that can be analysed to help forecast and manage production capacity. Elster's Smart Metering solution for water helps WBWC to identify leaks within their distribution system, improves efficiency and helps to reduce water losses. It also provides significant increases in operational safety by eliminating the need to manually read hard-to-access meters," commented Rob Campbell, managing director of Elster's water metering business in Australia.

About Elster

Elster (NYSE: ELT) is one of the world's largest electricity, gas and water measurement and control providers. Its offerings include distribution monitoring and control, advanced smart metering, demand response, networking and software solutions, and numerous related communications and services – key components for enabling consumer choice, operational efficiency and conservation. Its products and solutions are widely used by utilities in the traditional and emerging smart grid markets.

Elster has one of the most extensive installed revenue measurement bases in the world, with more than 200 million metering devices deployed over the course of the last 10 years. It sells its products and services in more than 130 countries across electricity, gas, water and multi-utility applications for residential, commercial and industrial, and transmission and distribution applications.

For more information about Elster, please visit www.elster.com.

SOURCE Elster