Elster Highlights Smart Grid System Interoperability at DistribuTECH 2012

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Showcasing true system interoperability, Elster (NYSE: ELT), a leader in advanced Smart Metering and distribution monitoring, will present and exhibit its Smart Grid modernization solutions at DistribuTECH 2012 in San Antonio, Texas, January 24-26, 2012.

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"By enabling vital connections in the energy ecosystem, innovating smarter utility technology and providing true system interoperability, Elster is proving to customers that it has established a standard for successful Smart Grid deployments that deliver reliability and value," said Mark Munday, Elster's chief technology officer. "Elster also is driving standards development to ensure maximum interoperability on all levels of the Smart Grid."

Today's utilities continue to look to the Smart Grid to help them become more efficient. They are seeking interoperability, DA-AMI convergence and security. Elster's solutions deliver on these three requirements, ultimately helping utilities save energy, reduce costs and increase the grid's reliability and availability for its customers.

Interoperability: The grid can only get so smart without a framework for interoperability* and Elster is at the leading edge of interoperable solutions adoption. Through its industry-leading REXUniversal platform, Elster is providing the technology that sets a new standard for utility flexibility.

The REXUniversal, introduced in September 2011, is the industry's most flexible Smart Grid metering platform, allowing true hardware and system interoperability. Unlike other systems available today, the Elster REXUniversal metering platform allows communication protocols to be changed remotely, altering the device's personality and allowing the device to operate natively in different network systems without requiring hardware replacement.

REXUniversal allows EnergyAxis® and other Smart Grid vendors' 900MHz radio frequency (RF), mesh communications to run natively on the identical REXUniversal meter hardware with integrated communications, economically delivering meter and network flexibility to utilities. With the ability to quickly and cost-effectively migrate endpoints to different communication systems, utilities are no longer locked in to just one network for their Smart Grid technology and system needs.

In addition to the previously announced REXUniversal integration agreement with Landis+Gyr, Elster further expands its interoperable solutions by designing products that integrate with other network providers, including the recent announcement to integrate Elster's A3 ALPHA C&I Meter with Silver Spring Networks' Smart Energy platform.

DA-AMI convergence: With the convergence of distribution automation (DA) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), Elster's customers can now leverage network capabilities in AMI to achieve operational benefits in DA cost-effectively. Elster's DA-AMI solution delivers the benefits of voltage conservation, transformer monitoring, load management and electric vehicle integration.

Security: Elster builds security into the EnergyAxis network and the hardware at all levels throughout the system, providing secure elements for all AMI components. Cyber security features are built in to the end devices, the radio communications networks, the gatekeepers and the network management system to protect data stored in the equipment, and data being transmitted.

"Whether it is distribution automation, demand response, revenue metering or voltage conservation, Elster has the proven Smart Grid solutions designed to help utilities realize shorter payback periods, achieve greater network security and more efficiently manage overall energy consumption," Munday added.

Elster will exhibit at booth #526 at DistribuTECH 2012, Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas, January 24-26, 2012. Both Munday and newly-appointed Elster Solutions President, Ed Myszka, will be available in the Elster booth for discussion and to answer questions about the company's solutions. Several other subject matter experts will be available to provide system and product demonstrations that highlight Elster's end-to-end integrated solutions across gas, electricity and water industries.

Elster also will lead a live panel discussion, Delivering Operational Benefits Through Voltage Conservation: An Entergy Case Study, in room 205 on Tuesday, January 24 at 12:00 p.m. CT. The session, moderated by Pike Research, will feature participants from the Smart Grid Voltage Conservation Alliance, including Entergy, ABB and Survalent.  The session will also be webcast.  More information and registration information can be found at http://www.distributech.com/index/live-webcasts.html.

Two Elster customers, Salt River Project and Peterborough Utilities, will deliver presentations during the conference. Amy Erwin, Salt River Project, will present a case study about the utility's experience with Meter Data Management. Claude Godin from Elster EnergyICT will also participate in this session, which takes place on Tuesday, January 24, at 3:00 p.m. CT. David Whitehouse, Peterborough Utilities, will discuss leveraging the Smart Grid infrastructure for advanced water metering. The session will take place on Wednesday, January 25, at 9:30 a.m. CT.

* The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - Report to NIST on the Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Roadmap

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