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Atlanta Gas Light Company Enters Into Agreement With Vendor To Provide Automated Meter Reading
Natural Gas Customers in Georgia Will Be The First in Nation To Benefit From This Breakthrough Technology - At No Additional Cost To Customers
PRNewswire
ATLANTA
Atlanta Gas Light Company today announced that it has entered into a long-term agreement with IMServ to provide automated meter reading technology to read more than 1.3 million meters in Georgia, at no additional cost to customers. The program will be rolled out in phases over a three-year period. IMServ a unit of Invensys, will manage the data received from the transmitters which then will be transmitted back to Atlanta Gas Light Company. As part of this program, IMServ has partnered with NexusData, a provider of wireless Automated Meter Reading technology (AMR). NexusData has created the hardware and technology that allows the collected meter data to be transmitted from each meter to a receiver network and then on to a central data collection center. "In keeping with our top strategic goal of operational excellence, the automated meter reading program will significantly increase our efficiency and enhance our customer service," said Susan McLaughlin, president and chief executive officer of Atlanta Gas Light Company and executive vice president and COO of AGL Resources. "While others have offered similar programs, Atlanta Gas Light Company has teamed up with the two leading international companies in the world who offer a superior product. AMR is a win-win for natural gas customers in Georgia, as well as the nine certified natural gas marketers in Georgia. Once the program is fully operational marketers will receive very high quality meter reading data." In October 2001, a 10-month test of the automated meter reading equipment and technology will get underway in the Macon area, which serves some 51,000 natural gas customers. A transmitter will be attached to each of the meters in the test area. (Over the next three years, a transmitter will be affixed to approximately 1.3 million meters throughout the state.) "We support Atlanta Gas Light Company's move to an automated meter reading system," said Lauren "Bubba" McDonald, Chair of the Georgia Public Service Commission. "The use of new technology in business today is not only a real timesaver but can also help companies, such as AGL, provide better service to their customers at no additional cost." About NexusData NexusData provides low-cost wireless wide area data collection and information management systems for the utility industry. The solutions include long-range transmitters, highly sensitive receivers and a Data Operations Center to capture information for gas, electric and water meters. NexusData is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexus Telocation Systems Ltd. About Invensys Invensys plc is a global leader in the Automation and Controls industry. With its head office in London, it operates in all regions of the world through four focused divisions -- Software Systems, Automation Systems, Power Systems and Control Systems. With about 80,000 employees, the company's products and services range from advanced control systems and networks for automating industrial plants and controlling the environments of buildings, to electronic devices and controls found in residential buildings and light commercial applications, plus complete power systems for the telecommunications and information technology industries. For more information on Invensys plc, please visit http://www.invensys.com/ . About IMServ The premier supplier of meter reading services and systems currently calling and reading over 86,000 C & I interval meters daily and 4 million residential meters in the United Kingdom and Europe, IMServ is a leading energy services company helping electric, water and natural gas utilities, energy providers, ISOs and corporations achieve greater operating efficiencies, manage risk, and deliver superior service by providing a full spectrum of end-to-end data management, metering services, and billing solutions. IMServ is a unit of Invensys plc, a global leader in the automation and controls industry. IMServ has operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Benelux and North America. For more information on IMServ, please visit http://www.imserv.invensys.com/ . About Atlanta Gas Light Company Atlanta Gas Light Company is the largest natural gas distributor in the Southeast and provides delivery service to more than 1.5 million customers in Georgia. It also is the primary subsidiary of AGL Resources SOURCE: Atlanta Gas Light Company Contact: media, Nick Gold, +1-404-584-3457, or pager, +1-800-291-9649, |