Illinois Utilities Share Itron AMI Network to Support Meter Modernization

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[{"type":"text","content":"\nComEd, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas Drive Sustainability and Innovation in Illinois Utilizing Existing Itron Network\n\n LIBERTY LAKE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nItron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), which is innovating the way utilities and cities manage energy and water, today announced Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group, are working together with ComEd, an energy provider to more than 4 million customers, to share ComEd’s existing Itron advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) multi-purpose network to support smart technology that will streamline natural gas meter reading to create efficiencies and lower carbon emissions.\n\nPeoples Gas and North Shore Gas serve more than 1 million customers in the greater Chicago area and will benefit from secure access to ComEd’s existing industrial IoT (IIoT) network. As a result, there is no need to build a separate, single-purpose network. This approach accelerates benefits for Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas and the end-customers they serve.\n\nThis collaboration marks a significant partnership between two large investor-owned utilities to share the same network infrastructure across common service territories. Up to now, Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas have read their customers’ meters by driving a vehicle down every street and transmitting data from each meter via radio signal. AMI will significantly reduce utility vehicles from the street, eliminating more than 580,000 driving miles per year and 626 tons of carbon emissions per year. In addition to helping the environment, the estimated $5.5 million per year cost savings from the reduced driving and other efficiencies will more than offset the cost of AMI.\n\nInnovation among the three utilities will contribute not only to environmental sustainability but also customer satisfaction. With more frequent access to meter data, customers of Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas will gain better visibility into their energy consumption.\n\n“The smart grid and advanced metering infrastructure are delivering benefits not only for ComEd customers but for other Illinois utilities, and we’re eager to demonstrate the value of these investments to the customers we share with Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas,” said Terence Donnelly, president and COO at ComEd.\n\n“Using AMI will reduce costs for customers and enhance our level of serv...

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