Itron Inc. (Liberty Lake, Michigan, U.S.), in collaboration with its business associate in Malaysia, Impianas Sdn Bhd, has entered into a contract with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) for deployment of Itron Enterprise Edition (IEE) meter-data-management (MDM) software.

The MDM software installation is a key component of the utility's largest remote-meter-reading (RMR) technology initiative, which includes 90,000 low-voltage commercial and industrial (C&I) meters to automate meter-data collection, analysis and billing process.

IEE MDM software is an enterprise data-management solution that collects energy-consumption information, and builds a central repository of data that can be accessed and applied to optimize the efficiency of the electric distribution system. The software enables the consolidation and management of data from dissimilar meter devices. IEE enables TNB to collect, analyze and manage data daily from its population of C&I meters in a single place. The installed system will enable TNB to introduce state-of-the-art technology in MDM and customer service, while streamlining business processes and increasing overall efficiency.

“We will be able to obtain a very detailed profile of the customer's load, which our current metering system cannot do,” says Datuk Aishah Abdul Rauf, vice president for TNB. “In the long term, this will translate into savings for us, and the data will help our customers be more energy efficient.”

Impianas Sdn Bhd will provide full project management. “This initiative will provide TNB with an end-to-end solution for remote meter reading for our C&I customers,” says Fadil Helmi, general manager of Impianas Sdn Bhd. “It will equip TNB with a data collection and production center, a disaster recovery center, GSM as communication infrastructure and remote equipment at the meter sites of TNB's large power consumer locations.”