St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) will deploy the first full-scale EnergyAxis smart metering system in the Caribbean.

LUCELEC selected Elster's EnergyAxis System based on its wireless and networking mesh communications and its ability to increase operational efficiencies, augment conservation initiatives and improve outage response times through enhanced monitoring capabilities. LUCELEC will also enhance customer service capability and operational efficiencies through EnergyAxis remote disconnect and reconnect functionality.

St. Lucia has one power generation station and seven substations that service the entire island and 56,000 customers. The island, 238 square miles (616 sq. km) includes a mix of terrain, including high mountains, dense forests, low-lying lands, and beaches, creating a challenging environment for wireless technology. To ensure the EnergyAxis system would provide robust connectivity in all areas of its service territory, LUCELEC deployed a 200 meter pilot. The pilot proved a success with all meters communicating reliably on a regular basis to LUCELEC operations.

"LUCELEC's objectives with the AMI deployment are to reduce meter reading costs and increase operational efficiency. This includes reducing system losses and improving our customer service," said Gilroy Pultie, LUCELEC's manager of transmission and distribution.