SmartSynch said that TNMP’s decision was propelled by the performance of SmartSynch’s initial 10,000 unit deployment last year, during which a 99.96% average daily read rate was achieved across multiple Texas geographies.
The deployment supported the collection of billing reads, remote service connect/disconnect capabilities and real-time event alarm notification. The SmartSynch offering was utilized to perform the remote move-in and move-out service requests in the state of Texas.
This new 231,000 unit deployment will enable TNMP to monitor and identify trends on customer usage data in 15-minute intervals, expand capabilities to support energy management, and provide a home area network (HAN) communications gateway enabling retail energy providers to manage demand response and energy efficiency activities, the company said.
In addition, TNMP customers will gain the ability to monitor and regulate electricity usage via the internet and home devices.
SmartSynch claims that its technology will also help TNMP provide faster and safer response to customer service requests and power outages, while reducing its meter reading, work order costs and overall carbon footprint resulting from lower truck use.
Neal Walker, vice president of Texas operations at TNMP, said: “The service, reliability, speed and ease of deployment, and performance we experienced during the trial surpassed our expectations, and made this an easy decision. In the last 12 months, we have consistently achieved a near-perfect, uninterrupted read rate regardless of where the SmartSynch SmartMeter units were deployed.
“Additionally, public wireless networks offer the greatest bandwidth available – enabling fast, secure and scalable functionality at a price competitive with any available alternative.”
Stephen Johnston, CEO of SmartSynch, said: “Today, everything changes in terms of the future of smart grid communications, as TNMP’s decision completely validates using public wireless networks for residential smart metering.
“Commercial wireless carriers now realize the growth opportunity, and have radically reduced their pricing to make our solutions more cost effective than mesh network solutions.”
