The deployment is conditional on negotiation of a definitive agreement with NV Energy and receipt of all requisite contract and regulatory approvals.
Robert Stewart, senior vice president of customer relationships at NV Energy, said: ”We needed a proven, interoperable, and secure system that would provide a foundation for our long-term smart grid strategy and deliver near term operational savings.”
He said that the utility was looking for a high-bandwidth, multi-application solution that provided mix of operational benefits and advanced smart grid features. He pointed to IP-based open systems and customer signaling as features of the Sensus FlexNet system that the utility will leverage to serve its primary goal of growing closer to the consumer.
Peter Mainz, president and CEO of Sensus, said: ” Sensus will support NV Energy’s demand response applications for shedding peak summer and winter electric loads and enable advanced applications for distribution automation and distributed generation.”
NV Energy is also expected to benefit from the reach and power of the FlexNet RF solution, which offers 2W of power for the transmission of data, statistics, and other usage information for utilities and consumers. The company said that this primary-use FCC licensed spectrum provides a clear path for value added features, including customer education, conservation, and integration with home area network.
The company claimed that the NV Energy deployment will benefit 2.4 million consumers in Nevada with a single smart grid solution, including those in northern Nevada and densely populated Las Vegas. The FlexNet system’s tower gateway base stations will be installed primarily at the utility’s existing substations.
