Paul Adams, Managing Director, Jemena

Melbourne, Australia --- (METERING.COM) --- April 16, 2009 - Two Australian utilities, Jemena Electricity Networks (JEN) Limited and United Energy Distribution (UED), have selected advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technology.

Under the agreement, the technology provider Silver Spring Networks will provide network infrastructure, devices, software and variety of services in support of the government mandated AMI program, which was officially launched earlier this month (see Victoria’s smart meter rollout formally launched).

The deployment, which will begin on September 1, 2009 and be completed by 2013, will network approximately 1 million homes and businesses throughout Victoria, Australia.

As part of the project, UED and Jemena will deploy other applications, including remote connect/disconnect and demand response. The implementation plan is designed to allow these utilities to comply with the Victoria DPI mandates for smart metering.

“Jemena is committed to delivering the best possible energy saving solution for today that also provides a quality platform for future technologies to make it easier for our customers to save energy and reduce environmental impact,” said Paul Adams, managing director of Jemena.

“This smart meter rollout will allow customers to better manage their energy consumption at a time when we are all becoming more energy focused,” said Hugh Gleeson, CEO of UED.

The project is Silver Spring’s first international deployment of its IP-based smart grid networking infrastructure, the Smart Energy Network.

“Silver Spring Networks is delighted to launch its international expansion with Jemena Ltd and UED,” commented the company’s chairman, CEO and president, Scott Lang.

UED is a Victorian electricity distribution company with a network encompassing over 660,000 end customers in southeast Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula.

JEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of energy infrastructure company Jemena Limited, covers over 320,000 customers in the northern and inner western suburbs of Melbourne.