Florida Power & Light Expands Work with Itron with Gen5 Network Upgrade
March 08 2018 - 8:45AM
Business Wire
Itron and FPL Sign Seven-year Contract for
Network Modernization, Service Expansion and Heightened Disaster
Preparedness
Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), a world-leading technology and
services company dedicated to the resourceful use of energy and
water, today announced that Florida Power & Light Company (FPL)
has signed a seven-year contract renewal. The contract includes
managed services, purchases of new Gen5 hardware and professional
services from Itron. FPL is the third-largest electric utility in
the United States, serving nearly 5 million customer accounts or an
estimated 10 million people across nearly half of the state of
Florida.
Under the renewal contract, FPL will deploy new Gen5 network
hardware and access points to support higher Neighborhood Area
Network (NAN) speeds that are up to 24 times faster than previous
generations and will move to GPS-enabled Network Interface Cards
(NICs) for streetlights. FPL will also deploy 2,100 new automated
feeder switches (AFS) to support FPL’s network reliability goals.
Other upgrades include replacing 1,000 radios from legacy
Distribution Automation systems with Gen5 bridges. Gen5 is 100
percent backwards-compatible with earlier-generation equipment,
ensuring seamless integration and deployability.
FPL will also rearchitect the Itron Distributed Automation
system to provide end-to-end IP connectivity for greater security
and higher network performance. Itron will provide managed services
to FPL, ensuring reliable, predictable software delivery,
operations and upgrades.
The renewal contract follows FPL’s contract award to Silver
Spring Networks (before its acquisition by Itron) in 2007, which
led to deployment of Silver Spring’s wireless IPv6 mesh networking
technology as well as management and control software to connect
and control FPL’s meters. Since 2007, the network has been further
expanded to manage and control more than 3,700 automated feeder
switches, 20,000 intelligent line sensors and nearly 500,000
streetlight photocells.
“The billions of dollars we’ve invested throughout the last 11
years to build a stronger, smarter energy grid continue to provide
tangible benefits to our customers in the form of higher day-to-day
reliability and faster restoration following a major storm,” said
Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. “The unprecedented size and
scope of Hurricane Irma last September tested every piece of
equipment across our 27,000-square-mile service area. That said, we
were able to restore service to 1 million customers before the
storm even exited our system, and 2 million customers after one
full day of restoration. In fact, smart grid technology not only
enabled us to avoid more than a half million outages during the
storm, it also allowed us to restore service to customers before it
was safe for our trucks to roll.”
“FPL has become a de facto model for how utilities can scale
their networks to meet growing demand for services while
maintaining constant awareness and preparation for natural
disasters,” said Philip Mezey, president and CEO of Itron. “It’s no
wonder that FPL has been honored with multiple industry awards for
its smart grid network as well as winning the Davies’ Consulting
Award for Leadership in Emergency Response in 2017. We’re delighted
to extend our work with FPL.”
About Itron
Itron is a world-leading technology and services company
dedicated to the resourceful use of energy and water. We provide
comprehensive solutions that measure, manage and analyze energy and
water. Our broad product portfolio includes electricity, gas, water
and thermal energy measurement devices and control technology;
communications systems; software; as well as managed and consulting
services. With thousands of employees supporting nearly 8,000
customers in more than 100 countries, Itron applies knowledge and
technology to better manage energy and water resources. Together,
we can create a more resourceful world. Join us: www.itron.com.
Itron® is a registered trademark of Itron, Inc. All third party
trademarks are property of their respective owners and any usage
herein does not suggest or imply any relationship between Itron and
the third party unless expressly stated.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180308005169/en/
Itron, Inc.Alison Mallahan, 509-891-3802Senior PR
Manageralison.mallahan@itron.com
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