Glendale Water & Power (GWP) has awarded a US$4.2 million contract to Utility Partners of America (UPA) to replace existing electric and water meters with smart meters for GWP customers starting this year.

UPA is scheduled to begin installing smart meters in selected demonstration areas in Glendale, California, U.S., this spring. Full-scale installation for all GWP customers is scheduled for late summer/early fall.

“With smart meters, our customers will be able to conserve more, because they will know exactly how much they are using and how much they are spending,” said GWP General Manager Glenn Steiger. “This also will help improve the environment due to ongoing energy and water savings. Plus, smart meters will provide many other benefits, including a faster response to power outages and earlier detection of any water leaks in our system.”

UPA will install Itron's OpenWay smart grid technology for GWP's 84,500 electric customers and Itron's Water SaveSource for 33,400 water customers, plus the wide-area network to facilitate communications between GWP and the individual meters. In addition, UPA will install leak-detecting sensors that will be used to continuously monitor GWP's entire water system.

To further support the smart meter initiative, project management and technical support are being provided by KEMA Inc., a recognized leader in smart grid development.

For more information, visit www.GlendaleWaterAndPower.com or www.utilitypartners.com.