Elster has been awarded a contract from Arizona Public Service (APS) for the deployment of 800,000 smart meters for residential, commercial and industrial consumers.

"We are committed to investing in technologies that benefit our customers, and our partnership with Elster is integral to this effort," said Tammy McLeod, APS vice president and chief customer officer. "In this time of rising energy prices, smart metering technology enables APS to offer customers a greater ability to manage their energy usage. In addition to helping our customers control their energy costs, this technology is already helping APS operate more efficiently by reducing the number of miles driven by APS personnel. The potential future benefits are limitless."

The APS smart metering program will use a broad range of Elster technologies including its market leading EnergyAxis System to help its consumers monitor electrical usage, in real-time, and enable APS to identify and correct service interruptions more quickly while improving efficiencies in APS meter reading, billing and customer service operations.