The projects are scheduled to start in 2014 and run until 2015 with expected mass rollout of devices by 2019.
Prompted by a new Austrian energy law, the projects show potential future orders of nearly 3.5 million smart meters and networked energy services (NES) software platform licenses.
Echelon senior vice president and general manager Michael Anderson said that as Austrian utilities work toward compliance with the new energy law, Echelon is winning important pilots by offering products that enable utility companies to not only meet the new mandates, but also improve the overall safety, efficiency and reliability of their energy grid.
"These pilots represent early traction in a crucial phase of this growing market. With our continued success in demonstrating the value that NES offers to our customers, Echelon is well positioned to compete for large-scale deployment tenders once that process begins," Anderson added.
The platform operates as a fully integrated solution with Kapsch’s meter data management software and also offers a utility-grade applications platform to support the immediate smart meter program requirements and future grid applications.
Kapsch Smart Energy CEO Christian Schober said that the company’s energy management software running on Echelon smart meters in these pilots gives utility companies greater control over their grids.
"Although we are meter independent, we have achieved our best performance working together with Echelon," Schober added.
