Itron Inc. has announced a ₤577,743 (US$1,023,529) contract to supply and support 250 of its Field Collector 200 (FC200) handheld computers to Scottish and Southern Energy. The FC200s and Itron’s MV-RS 7.0 software will be used for reading residential electricity meters.
Itron and Scottish and Southern Energy have worked together for 17 years. The new agreement comes after a nearly two-year search by the UK utility for a solution to read its more than 3.4 million electricity meters. The combination of the FC200 and MV-RS software means Scottish and Southern Energy will use a rugged solution that can withstand harsh weather conditions and abuse, and one that can be expanded and upgraded in the future.
With more than 6.5 million customers and 9.7 GW of electricity generating capacity, Scottish and Southern Energy is one of the largest energy companies in the United Kingdom. It is involved in the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity, energy trading, the storage, distribution and supply of gas. The utility is also involved in electrical, environmental and utility contracting, and telecommunications.
The Itron FC200 Scottish and Southern will use is a versatile, ergonomic, ultra-rugged and environmentally immune handheld computing solution. Designed to operate in demanding conditions, the FC200 is suitable for mobile workforces. The system supports a full range of communications technologies and has a generous battery life.
Itron’s MV-RS software is used by utilities worldwide to collect and manage meter-reading data. This data can then be used for billing, and shared with other parts of the utility to help optimize the delivery of electricity. Meter reading methods can also be easily added to MV-RS as automation requirements and technologies change, a feature that is especially important to SSE.
