Avista to Lead $38 Million Smart Grid Project in Pullman
November 24 2009 - 1:53PM
PR Newswire (US)
DOE awards funds for Northwest Smart Grid demonstration SPOKANE,
Wash., Nov. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avista (NYSE:AVA) will
lead a smart grid demonstration project that will create the first
"smart community" in the Pacific Northwest. Matching funds for the
$38 million project are part of a U.S. Department of Energy grant
for a larger $178 million regional project which is administered by
Battelle. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040128/SFW031LOGO) Avista
will team up with several regional entities for the Pullman, Wash.,
project. Participants include the City of Pullman, Schweitzer
Engineering Laboratories, Washington State University, Itron,
Hewlett Packard and Spirae. Avista's portion of the matching funds
will be $12.9 million. The project involves automation of many
parts of the electric distribution system using advanced metering,
enhanced utility communication and other elements of smart grid
technologies. Once the work is completed, customers in the City of
Pullman and the nearby Town of Albion are expected to experience
greater reliability, shorter outage times and access to their own
energy use information, allowing them to better manage energy
expenses. "This project will demonstrate the viability of
modernizing our electric system with proven technology, and it will
prepare us for things to come in the future," said Scott Morris,
Avista chairman, president and CEO. "I have to especially thank
Senator Maria Cantwell for her outstanding leadership in making
smart grid a national priority," Morris added. "I would also like
to express my appreciation to the rest of our congressional
delegation and to Governor Chris Gregoire for their support on this
initiative." The project is expected to help move the region and
the nation closer to establishing a more efficient and effective
electricity infrastructure that is intended to help contain costs,
reduce emissions, incorporate more wind power and other types of
renewable energy, increase power grid reliability and provide
greater flexibility for consumers. Work is expected to begin by the
end of 2009 and should be completed in 2014. About Avista Avista
Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission
and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related
businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating division that
provides electric service to 355,000 homes and businesses and
natural gas to 312,000 homes and businesses in three Western
states, serving more than 492,000 customers. Avista's primary,
non-regulated subsidiary is Advantage IQ. Our stock is traded under
the ticker symbol "AVA." For more information about Avista, please
visit http://www.avistacorp.com/. This news release contains
forward-looking statements regarding the company's current
expectations. Forward-looking statements are all statements other
than historical facts. Such statements speak only as of the date of
the news release and are subject to a variety of risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control,
which could cause actual results to differ materially from the
expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, in addition to
those discussed herein, all of the factors discussed in the
company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31,
2008, and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
Sept. 30, 2009.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040128/SFW031LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Avista Corp. CONTACT: Hugh
Imhof of Avista Corp., +1-509-595-4264, , or Avista 24/7 Media
Access, +1-509-495-4174 Web Site: http://www.avistacorp.com/
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