Itron has announced that Con Edison has started deploying battery-powered natural gas detectors on its smart meter network utilizing Itron’s Industrial IoT network.
Image: Con Edison plant in New York City. Photo: Courtesy of Beyond My Ken/Wikipedia.
Con Edison is currently deploying 9,000 detectors as part of an initial pilot developed by New Cosmos with Itron’s Milli 5 battery-optimized communications module.
Con Edison’s multi-application network includes 3.8 million electric meters and 1.3 million gas modules. With these natural gas detectors on its smart meter network, Con Edison will be able to detect leaks and quickly alert its emergency crews to improve safety for everyone in the communities they serve.
“These detectors can help save lives by using smart technology to communicate directly from a customer’s home to our emergency department,” said Marc Huestis, senior vice president for Con Edison’s Gas Operations. “This is an important first-in-the-world safety initiative that leverages Itron’s IoT technology and underscores the advantages available through Con Edison’s smart meter network.”
“We are excited that Con Edison is utilizing our battery-powered methane detectors to identify natural gas leaks in its territory,” said Yoshinori Nishiue, senior director of engineering at New Cosmos. “Thanks to Itron’s developer’s program, we were able to quickly and easily create a prototype and commercialize a solution utilizing their network.”
“As the first solution deployed at scale in an Industrial IoT network from the Itron developer program, this deployment demonstrates the success of our developer tools,” said Todd Thayer, director of technology enablement at Itron. “Cities and utilities are expanding their network IoT use cases to provide safer, more reliable and more cost-effective delivery of energy to customers.”
Source: Company Press Release