Itron’s new offering will be commercially available in the last quarter of this year
U.S. firm Itron, a technology company that specializes in products and services for energy and water resource management, has announced the launch of its new intelligent gas meter.
The new offering, dubbed Itron Intelis gas meter, transforms the gas distribution network from the one-way gas delivery mechanism to an interactive energy network, Itron said.
The Itron Intelis gas meter will operate in mobile mode and on the Itron OpenWay Riva and Gen5 IoT networks to deliver near real-time data and post-processing analytics, the company added.
“Efficient and sustainable operations will be key to utilities’ long-term success – and technology will play an important role in this. The introduction of intelligent edge devices, such as Itron’s Intelis gas meter, will equip utilities to ensure safety and operational efficiency,” said Farah Saeed, research director at Frost & Sullivan.
The Itron Intelis gas meter features integrated flow measurement, wich detects high-flow condition, automatically shutting off gas flow and sending an alarm to the utility. Also, its embedded air detection capability immediately recognizes meter removal and shuts off gas flow. Integrated temperature sensors can detect extreme heat.
The new intelligent smart gas meter temporarily shuts off service for non-payment or move-outs while allowing proactive management of service shutoffs and reconnects and maintenance activities, according to the company. The meter also can activate service safety shutoffs remotely from the home office or from a service vehicle.
“As we bring our first intelligent gas meter to utilities, we’ve incorporated our leading Encoder Receiver Transmitter (ERT) technology into the meter, serving our mobile customers while bringing distributed intelligence to the edge of the network,” said Carl Porter, president of Itron’s Gas business line. “The new capabilities enable a truly intelligent, connected utility network that adds value beyond just meter automation to resourceful use and management of gas delivery.”
Itron said that the Intelis gas meter will be commercially available in the last quarter of 2018 and will be compatible with the OpenWay Riva network. The meter will be available for the Gen 5 network in the second half of 2019.
In related news, Itron, in collaboration with its partner ALT Telecom Public Company Limited was selected by Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) to deploy the utility’s first Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) using Itron’s OpenWay Riva solution, including 116,000 OpenWay Riva enabled smart meters.
The solution, which will be deployed in the city of Pattaya, in Thailand, will help PEA transform its operations and improve distribution system efficiency, reliability and safety, Itron said. PEA provides electricity to more than 18 million customers in the Asian country.
“With Itron’s OpenWay Riva solution, we will be able to enhance our operations, automate grid performance and directly engage consumers to manage their energy better,” said Pongsakorn Yuthagovit, director of the system planning department at PEA. “By starting with a targeted deployment in the city of Pattaya, we will better understand the benefits of this technology and be better prepared for our nationwide AMI deployment in the future.”
