SmartSynch to Provide the City of Griffin, Georgia with a Complete Smart Metering System Serving Its Entire Service Territory

Monday, Feb 15, 2010

SmartSynch, Inc., a smart grid technology company utilizing standard IP communications via public wireless networks, announced today that it will provide the City of Griffin, Georgia with a complete smart metering system for its entire electric service territory. This month, Griffin Power will begin deploying IP-enabled residential and commercial SmartSynch SmartMeters™ utilizing existing public wireless networks. The City of Griffin is the first municipal utility to deploy a territory-wide, comprehensive smart metering system utilizing public wireless networks as the communications backbone.

The City of Griffin was seeking a state-of-the-art smart metering system capable of meeting today’s needs, while avoiding the future risk of technology obsolescence. Additionally, they chose not to spend excess capital to own and operate a private communication network to support smart grid applications. Since SmartSynch solutions utilize secure, reliable public wireless networks that already exist, they are automatically IP-enabled directly to each endpoint device—making them the most future-proof solutions on the market today.

SmartSynch’s smart metering system will enable the City of Griffin to automate processes for all electric meters. Functionality includes remote disconnect/reconnect; providing customers with optional rate designs, such as time of use, demand management rates and pre-paid service; and providing or interfacing with an automated outage management system to help reduce outage periods.

Griffin Power customers will gain the ability to monitor and regulate electricity usage via the Internet and home devices. SmartSynch’s technology will also help Griffin Power better address customer service requests and power outages in a safe and timely manner, while reducing meter reading, work order costs and overall carbon footprint resulting from decreased truck rolls.

“SmartSynch’s end-to-end IP communicating solutions allow us to easily and efficiently implement secure smart grid technology that will benefit the city and our customers,” said William “Bill” Bosch, director of Griffin Power. “By using public wireless networks already in place, SmartSynch’s solutions will enable us to provide greater energy efficiency to our residential and commercial customers while helping keep rates low.”

“We are delighted that the City of Griffin selected our solution, and look forward to leveraging our innovative technology to deliver a proven, ready-made system so residents and businesses can begin better managing energy consumption today – without having to wait three to five years,” said Stephen Johnston, SmartSynch’s chief executive officer. “It’s cost-efficient for a municipality to deploy public wireless smart metering technology opposed to more complex, expensive and proprietary alternatives. With smart meter deployments on the rise and the benefits of leveraging public wireless networks becoming a clear value proposition for utilities, we are confident that today’s announcement will be the first of many to come.”

About SmartSynch

SmartSynch has been the only provider of standard, IP communicating end-to-end smart grid solutions utilizing public wireless networks for the utility industry since 2000. Our clean-tech innovations in the two-way delivery of real-time energy usage data over public wireless networks, in lieu of proprietary networks, have to-date simplified deployments for 100 major North American utilities, while enabling their clean-energy initiatives and delivering greater Returns on Resources.

As a smart grid infrastructure company, SmartSynch’s IP-based solutions are capable of delivering grid intelligence to and from any device. Our products and services include SmartMeters™ and SmartBoxes™ that immediately IP-enable the grid, software solutions, and network management services for utilities and their customers, as well as clean-tech companies in need of remote communications and control functionality for products ranging from solar panels to plug-in hybrid vehicles.

IP-based public wireless networks enable utilities to strategically and rapidly deploy more secure and scalable smart grid solutions with minimal capital expenditures. IP networks and solutions may be remotely upgraded to interface with new technologies, since they are built upon open standards and leverage existing programs and tools. SmartSynch’s IP-based Smart Grid communications infrastructure encourages rapid application innovation and delivery of new functionality by allowing the broadest spectrum of ecosystem participants to focus on providing maximum benefits to utilities and their customers.

About City of Griffin / Griffin Power

Griffin, Georgia is located 45 minutes south of Atlanta, in Spalding County. Griffin Power supplies power to the majority of the county, including Griffin, which serves approximately 35,000 electric and water meters including residential, commercial and major industrial customers.

Griffin offers competitive incentives to attract new businesses, professionals and their skilled workforces to the region. This effort to implement a smart grid system to serve a growing customer base fits into the overall plan for AMI, outage management systems and other customer applications aimed at improving service and system reliability - and strengthening economic development pursuits.

Source: Businesswire