San Juan, Puerto Rico --- (METERING.COM) --- December 14, 2007 – The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) will add an additional 300,000 TWACS® automatic meter reading modules and associated substation equipment to its existing, fully functional fixed network AMI system of just over one million metering endpoints. The TWACS technology is provided by Distribution Control Systems, Inc. (DCSI), a subsidiary of ESCO Technologies Inc. and a member of ESCO’s Communications Segment.

The existing TWACS installation is cost efficient and offers proven-at-scale hourly meter reads as well as an effective outage management system. The new contract, signed in December and valued at approximately $27 million over the next two and a half years, represents an expansion of the PREPA deployment, enabling the utility to address the remainder of its current service territory requirements and enhancing its ability to provide state-of-the-art meter reading data. Approximately 60,000 units will ship by the end of 2007, with PREPA planning to purchase 160,000 more within the contract’s first year.

“We are extremely pleased that PREPA has expanded its TWACS system,” said ESCO Communications Segment’s Vice President of International, Robert Barto. “DCSI is a proven partner with PREPA in bringing efficient, cost-effective and reliable power to the residents of Puerto Rico.”

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), a public corporation and government agency founded in 1941, provides all electric power to the country. It employs approximately 9,500 people.

DCSI’s TWACS technology provides AMI/AMR capabilities, including interval data collection, load control for demand response, load management operations, time-of-use for critical peak pricing, prepayment metering, line-voltage monitoring, outage assessment/restoration monitoring, remote service disconnect/connect, and tamper/theft detection using open architecture interfaces. There are over 15 million TWACS devices installed or committed.