The smart grid deployment is part of an energy-efficiency and public-safety program funded by a 15-year, $14.2m energy savings performance contract and backed in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Through the program, the city is expected to decrease electricity consumption by 2.2 million kWh per year – enough energy to power more than 200 homes annually. The program is also projected to cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 1,600 metric tons.
The city will pay for the entire program through the energy and operational savings, and improved revenue generation the smart meter system and infrastructure upgrades produce. Honeywell guarantees approximately $1.7m in savings per year as part of the performance contract so the work will not increase city operating budgets or require additional taxpayer dollars, the company said.
Duncan will use more than $2m in ARRA stimulus grants through the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the US Department of Energy to help fund the program at the outset.
To create the smart metering network, Honeywell will replace existing utility meters across the city with more than 9,000 electric meters and 12,000 water meters from Elster Integrated Solutions.
The new meters will be connected via a Tropos wireless mesh network that builds on the city’s existing broadband service. Every meter will come equipped with a digital register – instead of the traditional rotating dials – as well as wireless technology that allows the meters to send readings to nearly 700 ‘collector’ meters located throughout the city, which will then transmit the data to the utility systems.
According to Honeywell, the electric meters also feature two-way communication capabilities that will provide the city greater visibility into, and control of, the electrical grid. The company expects to install the smart meter network and complete the upgrades by the end of 2010.
