Kansas City Selects Elster's EnergyAxis Smart Grid Solution

Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (KCBPU), a publicly owned provider of electricity and water services to residences and businesses across the Kansas City, Kansas area, will implement Elster's EnergyAxis Smart Grid solution to streamline business and operational processes and provide cost-effective services to its customer base.

"Our customers and their unique needs were our primary consideration in awarding Elster this contract—we needed a Smart Grid technology partner that understood these needs and could meet our unique geographic and technology requirements for both electricity and water," said Don Gray, general manager, KCBPU.

"Elster has demonstrated global success in challenging conditions with multi-utilities in electricity and water, making us very confident that their EnergyAxis system will enable our customers to realize the benefits of the Smart Grid," Gray added.

Google recently announced its selection of Kansas City, Kansas, as the location for its ultra-high-speed fiber project. This network is expected to be 100 times faster than most broadband connection speeds.

With Elster's proven technologies, which include advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), KCBPU will install Ethernet-connected Rex3 Smart Meters and replace outdated control systems and infrastructure. This will enable the utility to roll out valuable new services such as outage management, time-of-use (TOU) rates, remote connect and disconnect service, flexible billing and leak detection capabilities to its customers.

As part of its Smart Grid plan, KCBPU plans to deploy more than 69,000 of Elster's smart electric meters and 55,000 Elster smart water meters over the next few years.  

"KCBPU is dedicated to providing the highest quality of electric and water services at the lowest possible cost to its customers, and, through this partnership with Elster, they will be able to achieve this mission with even greater success," said David Green, executive vice president, customers and markets, North America, Elster.

"By investing in the Elster EnergyAxis Smart Grid solution and replacing its aging water and electric infrastructure, KCBPU is also enhancing its abilities to support the changing needs of its customers," Green added.