To meet their government's mandated transition to the smart grid, Australian utilities Jemena Electricity Networks Limited and United Energy Distribution (UED) have chosen Redwood City, Calif.-based Silver Spring Networks to implement IP-based smart metering systems for more than 1 million buildings in the state of Victoria (see map below).
The ultimate goal is to bring the wireless meters installed in these homes and businesses online starting on Sept. 1 of this year -- and to fully deploy by 2013. This marks Silver Spring's first foray into building smart grid systems overseas. To support the government's Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) program, the company will provide the devices, software and network infrastructure necessary to beam energy usage data directly from meters to the utility companies and consumers.
Jemena and UED says the deal is not only intended to comply with the recent legislation, but to empower their subscribers to make more informed decisions about how and when they use electricity. UED's territory encompasses 660,000 customers and 1,450 square-kilometers southeast of Melbourne, while Jemena reaches 320,000 people in the northern and western suburbs of the city.
Silver Spring has already made a name for itself in the U.S., serving about 20 percent of the population and working with marquee utilities like PG&E, Pepco and Florida Power & Light. It just closed a $90 million round of funding in March, provided by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, JVB Properties, Foundation Capital and Edison Electric Institute. It also stands to benefit from the $4.5 billion the economic stimulus bill has allocated to smart grid development.
The objective of Victoria's AMI program is to deploy smart grid systems to all electricity consumers in the state that use less than 160 megawatt-hours per year (basically, all residential and small business customers). The AMI is now government-enforced following the Victorian parliament's approval of the Electricity Industry Act 2000.