ESCO Announces Aclara AMI System Win in Florida

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ESE) today announced that the Toho Water Authority of Kissimmee, Florida (Toho) has selected the Aclara RF Systems Inc. STAR® Network for its Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project, beginning with a 5,100-meter pilot. Toho, with 125,000 residential meters, is the largest provider of water, wastewater and reclaimed water services in Osceola County.

Toho will use the AMI data to enhance customer service as well as conserve water resources by reducing losses from leaks, inoperable meters and theft. In addition, Toho expects to improve its tiered water-rate program using the data it collects, allowing it to offer variable rates tailored to specific types of residential or commercial customers. It also will analyze the data and provide advice to customers on ways to conserve water based on usage patterns.

"We believe the STAR Network system will significantly improve efficiencies in collecting meter readings and other data from water meters, enhancing Toho's ability to accurately track consumption," said Gary Moore, President of Aclara RF Systems Inc. "More importantly, our solution will provide significant consumption information to consumers, allowing them to actively conserve sustainable resources and lower their water bills."

The STAR Network system is the AMI leader in water and gas utilities in part because its unique design employs licensed 450- to 470- MHz frequencies that penetrate materials better with less interference than higher-frequency, unlicensed signals. In addition, STAR collects meter readings hourly, transferring them on a utility-defined schedule to ensure that utilities and their customers have the data they need to make smart decisions regarding resource usage. Finally, the STAR system provides flexibility to utilities with its support of multiple standards-based communication protocols and technologies.

Aclara(TM) is part of ESCO's Utility Solutions Group, and this win further solidifies its AMI leadership position in the water industry as more than 100 cities have deployed the STAR Network system. The STAR Network system is configurable to meet the requirements of any size city, employing low-frequency radio signals to transmit meter readings on a schedule determined by the utility.

ESCO, headquartered in St. Louis, is a proven supplier of special purpose utility solutions for electric, gas and water utilities, including hardware and software to support advanced metering applications and fully automated intelligent instrumentation. In addition, the Company provides engineered filtration products to the aviation, space and process markets worldwide and is the industry leader in RF shielding and EMC test products. Further information regarding ESCO and its subsidiaries is available on the Company's web site at www.escotechnologies.com.

About Aclara

The Aclara brand represents one of the industry's leading Intelligent Infrastructure(TM) technologies for providing device networking, data-value management and customer communications to water, gas and electric utilities globally. Over 500 utilities in nine countries rely on proven Aclara solutions to connect with their customers. Aclara is part of the Utility Solutions Group of ESCO. Further information is available on Aclara's web site at www.Aclara.com.

SOURCE ESCO Technologies Inc.