New system can give consumers current information about how much electricity, water or gas they are using; enabling them to reduce energy costs and conserve resources
PARIS, June 18 -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced a new smart metering solution targeted at the utility market. This solution will make it possible for utilities to provide consumers with detailed, near real-time information about their personal energy consumption, giving them the knowledge they need to use electricity more efficiently and reduce their energy costs and emissions (carbon footprint) into the environment. It is anticipated that this can help reduce the load on utility providers power networks and also will give them the ability to quickly react to changes in consumption to better match their resources with the power needed.
Smart metering is viewed by industry observers as a key technology that can help tackle some of the critical challenges in the energy sector, including capacity management, promoting more efficient use of energy and establishing better tariff models. In addressing this new market segment, Alcatel-Lucent will leverage its expertise in providing real-time tariff platforms for mobile operators, network integration and operating managed services. The issue came to the fore in 2006 when the European Union issued a directive that requested that wherever possible, energy metering should be installed in households to allow self regulation of energy consumption.
The Alcatel-Lucent solution is based on its years of experience in working with communications service providers around the world who handle and bill for millions of calls and data connections each day. As a part of the solution, Alcatel-Lucent is delivering a real-time data processing system based on its Open Service Platform (OSP), offering meter reading, meter management, infrastructure and data management. Alcatel-Lucent''s OSP is widely deployed by hundreds of telecommunications operators. The solution is scalable and field proven in gathering call data on hundreds of millions of telephone calls. The smart metering release of the OSP adapts the system to the requirements of the utility providers, counting kilowatt hours or gallons per minute instead of call minutes.