The project stipulates the connection of 140,000 municipal smart streetlights in Chicago and northern Illinois
U.S. firm Itron, together with power company ComEd have a new initiative aimed at modernizing municipal lighting and driving smart city development in northern Illinois.
ComEd serves more than 4 million customers in Chicago and the northern Illinois area.
Under the smart city initiative, Itron will connect and manage up to 140,000 municipal smart streetlights across ComEd’s service territory, leveraging Itron’s multi-application IPv6 networking platform that ComEd is using for a variety of smart grid applications.
“By deploying an intelligent streetlight network across our service territory, we are helping reduce energy use for streetlights, saving money for our customers and setting the stage for smart city applications and services,” said Michelle Blaise, senior VP of technical services for ComEd.
The smart streetlights will be managed using Itron’s Streetlight.Vision central management system through a software-as-a-service model.
Itron also said that this new initiative supports the Illinois Commerce Commission’s goal to all streetlights that ComEd owns in northern Illinois into “smart streetlights.”
With the new smart lighting solution, ComEd expects to be in a position to reduce the cost of managing and maintaining the lights and to enhance the quality of service.
“The state of Illinois is emerging as a model for how IoT and smart city deployments should be done, thanks in part to initiatives ComEd is driving,” said Sharelynn Moore, senior vice president of networked solutions at Itron. “We are honored to be able to take part in programs that establish the foundation for achieving truly connected smart cities, and we look forward to our continued efforts with ComEd to help set the standard for smart utilities as we expand our reach into the broader industrial IoT segment.”
Since 2013, Silver Spring Networks — which was acquired by Itron — has collaborated with ComEd to deploy smart grid investments authorized by the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act, or Smart Grid Law, enacted in 2011, including the communications system that supports the network of more than 4 million smart meters that have been installed in ComEd’s service region.
