Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E; San Francisco, California, U.S.) has selected the STAR Network system from Aclara RF Systems Inc. (formerly Hexagram), a subsidiary of ESCO Technologies Inc., to provide additional electric advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) products for PG&E's SmartMeter program.

PG&E has ordered 88,000 Aclara RF electric devices to be installed in the Central Valley region of Northern California. The units will include a ZigBee connector as well as an interface to a connect/disconnect function integrated in the meter. It is PG&E's intent to order a significant quantity of Aclara RF electric AMI devices throughout 2008, in addition to the nearly 400,000 TWACS power-line-based electric AMI devices being installed in the Bakersfield and Vacaville areas.

The Aclara STAR Network employs a secure, licensed radio frequency to transmit and receive data at regular intervals for numerous utility customers across North America. Compatible with gas, water and electric meters, the STAR Network offers a proven-at-scale, redundant system architecture that ensures data security and reliability.