ST. LOUIS – July 14, 2008 –The TWACS® power-line communications solution, one of the Aclara-brand technologies of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ESE), St. Louis, has been selected by Idaho Power for its proposed advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project.
Idaho Power is involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electric energy in a 24,000-square-mile area in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon, serving
about 500,000 metered endpoints.
Idaho Power initially deployed the TWACS power-line solution several years ago with a 25,000 unit deployment intended to substantiate the business case for AMI and to test customer response to time-of-use billing and demand response/load control programs. The successful performance of this technology over the past few years was a significant factor in Idaho Power's decision to expand to a system-wide TWACS deployment.
Idaho Power plans to purchase the most advanced TWACS meter modules to collect interval data for current billing needs and to support planned time-of-use billing and demand response programs that are designed to allow the utility and its customers to better manage energy consumption and related energy costs.
The total value of purchase orders anticipated to be issued under this contract is about $25 million, and the system is expected to be deployed over a three-year period beginning in early 2009.
Bruce Kessler, president of Aclara Power-Line Systems Inc., commented, “We are pleased that Idaho Power has decided to expand its existing TWACS installation to meet its AMI needs within its vast service territory. We believe Aclara's versatile, proven-at-scale power-line solution is the most cost-effective AMI system for utilities such as Idaho Power, which have both rural and urban service areas, to collect meter data and to provide advanced demand response and time-of-use programs to meet customers' energy needs today and well into the future.”
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding the value and timing of anticipated purchase orders issued by Idaho Power, the location and timing of Idaho Power deployments and any other written or oral statements which are not strictly historical are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. Investors are cautioned that such statements are only predictions and speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no duty to update. The Company's actual results in the future may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties that exist in the Company's operations and business environment including, but not limited to: the risk factors described in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, and in Part II, Item 1A of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2008; approval by Idaho and Oregon Public Utilities Commissions of recovery of Idaho Power's AMI costs through customer rates ; the timing and content of purchase order releases under the Idaho Power contract; the Company's successful performance of the Idaho Power contract; weakening of economic conditions in served markets; changes in customer demands or customer insolvencies; competition; intellectual property rights; technical difficulties; delivery delays or defaults by customers; termination for convenience of customer contracts; performance issues with key customers, suppliers and subcontractors; and changes in laws and regulations.
For media inquiries:
Nancy E. Talley
Marketing Communications Manager
216-896-8657
About Idaho Power
Idaho Power was incorporated under the laws of the state of Idaho in 1989 as successor to a Maine corporation organized in 1916. Idaho Power is involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electric energy in a 24,000 square mile area in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon with an estimated population of 982,000. The utility holds franchises in 72 cities in Idaho and 10 cities in Oregon and holds certificates from the respective public utility regulatory authorities to serve all or a portion of 28 counties in Idaho and three counties in eastern Oregon. As of Dec. 31, 2007, Idaho Power supplied electric energy to 481,651 general business customers and had 2,028 full-time employees.
About Aclara
The Aclara brand represents the industry's leading fixed-network AMI/AMR technologies and MDM software serving water, gas, and electric utilities worldwide. While Aclara is our singular brand and identity, we retain the known technology brands of DCSI (TWACS®), Hexagram, Inc. (STAR® Network), and Nexus Energy Software (Energy Vision and ENERGYprism). These three companies operate as Aclara Power-Line Systems Inc., Aclara RF Systems Inc., and Aclara Software Inc. Further information on Aclara is available at www.AclaraTech.com.
About ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ESE)ESCO, headquartered in St. Louis, is a proven supplier of special purpose utility solutions for electric, gas, and water utilities, including hardware and software to support advanced metering applications and fully automated intelligent instrumentation. In addition, ESCO provides engineered filtration products to the aviation, space and process markets worldwide and is the industry leader in RF shielding and EMC test products. Further information regarding ESCO and its subsidiaries is available on the Company's web site at www.escotechnologies.com.
