Homeowners in California soon will have the capability to run their entire house by remote control-using only a computer, two-way pager, or telephone-thanks to utility deregulation efforts and agreements signed between Enron Energy Services Inc. and Mobile Telecommunication Technologies Inc.
Enron, a wholly owned subsidiary of Enron Corp., is one of the world’s largest integrated natural gas and electric companies. In preparation for the impending competition in soon-to-be deregulated utility markets, the company created the Interactive Metering Solution. The project strives to allow wireless monitoring and transmission of power consumption from customer locations to a host processing center via a power meter equipped with a wireless transmitter/receiver at the customer site.
Under the six-year agreement with Mtel, the paging company will support this wireless transmission for residential customers via its Advanced Messaging Network. Enron selected the Ardis nationwide data network to transmit the same information for its commercial and industrial customers.
The wireless-enabled power meters will be able to perform several functions in addition to meter reading. Customers will be provided with a thermostat equipped with a display screen and command functions to which Enron can send messages via the power meter transceiver, said Mtel. The thermostat device can sound an alert and display text messages like a pager, allowing the company to send month-to-date usage and pricing information so customers can better control and maximize energy consumption and costs.
This thermostat “pager” also will have two-way functionality, so that pages can be initiated at the unit-either manually by the customer or automatically, such as in the case of power outage alerts to plant managers.
This two-way interaction allows for several other options. Mtel is promoting it as a family messaging device. Family members away from home can send messages to the thermostat unit to reach family members at home and, because it is a two-way system, family members at home also can send messages to family members outside the house carrying SkyTel two-way pagers. Enron and Mtel plan to cross-market and bundle their services.
Also, customers will be able to “page” their home appliances from a phone, computer, or two-way pager. Routing commands through the power meter, homeowners will be able to turn on lights, activate the air conditioning and control virtually any other home appliance-in essence running the house by remote control.
According to Gary Foster, a spokesman for Enron, such “smart” appliances likely will need some adaptation to allow for this and they do not currently exist. When they do, he said, customers will have even greater control over their power usage by having the ability to remotely activate appliances during times when energy costs are cheaper and turning off power-draining appliances when not needed. The paging technology also can serve as a backup for a home security system, sending a message to police wirelessly rather than using wireline connections.
Motorola Inc.’s FLEX Solutions Architecture Division, Mtel and Enron currently are developing a wireless modem for the power meter to allow for these functions, Foster added.
Commercial and industrial customers, however, are installing power meters fitted with Motorola Series 500 Integrated Wireless Modems, transmitting over the Ardis data network. Commercial and industrial customers in California may start using their version of the service in January. The Ardis data network will support the company’s 50,000 commercial wireless meter units during the next three years.
Residential customers in California must wait until January 1999, when the state’s consumer utility market is scheduled for deregulation. Enron said it chose carriers with nationwide networks so it could offer the Interactive Metering Solution in any market in the country as more states adopt their own utility deregulation plans.
The national utility deregulation process, which would allow consumers to choose their own utility company regardless of location, is the catalyst for such an integrated system, Enron said. When several utility companies suddenly begin competing for customers in any given market, the necessity for differentiation becomes immense.
“In the future, there’s going to be all these energy providers,” said Mark McElroy, SkyTel’s director of corporate communications. “Enron saw this as a value-added service” that could set it apart from others.
“Not only will deregulation give (customers) lower power prices, but more importantly, they can expect to see new and innovative products and services like we have announced,” said Lou Pai, chairman and chief executive officer of Enron.
This scenario bodes well for the paging industry, which is pursuing nontraditional, or “off-the-hip,” applications for paging technology, such as FASD’s recently released CreataLink Control Module for automobiles.
“Enron will help us illustrate an important point: cost-effective monitoring of remote devices is a natural capability of Mtel’s advanced messaging technology,” said John Stupka, president and chief executive officer of Mtel. “Personal messaging is the core network application, but large-scale fixed wireless applications, such as Enron’s, provide an excellent opportunity to further utilize our network’s robust features and remarkable capacity.”
