Itron to demo smart city tech at DTE Energy

Smart-City

The growth of smart city projects has opened a plethora of opportunities for service providers who integrate smart Internet of Things (IoT) and connectivity solutions to the project.

Of late, Itron, a provider of smart metering solutions for the power and water segment, formed collaboration with DTE Energy, Detroit’s largest utility, to showcase their technology for a smart city demonstration project.

Located at DTE Energy’s headquarters, the demonstration highlights the important role smart technologies play in managing energy. It will feature innovative smart resource management technologies.

Smart-City (image courtesy: divasanddorks.com)
Smart-City (image courtesy: divasanddorks.com)

Components of the project include mobile apps, an educational kiosk, unmanned aerial vehicles, a smart electric vehicle charging station, intelligent streetlights, water leak detection, smart metering technology and analytics.

The Itron Insights app provides visibility into energy costs, water revenue and CO2 impacts, while the Itron City app empowers citizen-city collaboration through reporting and tracking of city-related issues, such as easy and timely reporting of potholes on the roads. The DTE Insight app allows customers to manage home energy usage from their smartphones.

Itron also demonstrates smart electric vehicle charging station featuring revenue-grade metrology and WiFi technology, allowing drivers to obtain charging data on their smartphones.

The intelligent streetlight technology highlights how enhanced lighting management functionality can reduce energy usage and costs.

To reduce water waste, Itron offers innovative leak detection technology.

Also read: India’s smart city program attracting global investors

“Smart technology is the foundation for smart cities, enabling people to use information and communications to enhance livability, workability and sustainability,” said Russ Vanos, senior vice president of strategy and corporate development at Itron.

“Our collaboration with DTE Energy is a great example of how utilities can partner with technology companies like Itron to improve resource management and create smart, sustainable and economically-stable communities of the future,” Vanos added.

Smart city projects help empower citizens to better manage their energy use. However, providers also have the responsibility to maintain customer confidentiality, said Robert Sitkauskas, Advanced Metering Infrastructure program manager at DTE Energy.

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