City of Douglas, Georgia among the first utilities to leverage the combined Tantalus smart grid & UtilityHawk consumer portal solution
RALEIGH, N.C. and COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 28, 2017 –Tantalus Systems, a leading provider of smart grid networks and applications, and UtilityHawk Solutions, a developer of user-friendly consumer engagement systems, have teamed up to provide a cost-effective utility and consumer smart grid portal solution.
The integrated system leverages real-time interval consumption data from the Tantalus Utility Network (TUNet®) to provide utilities and consumers with precise monitoring of electric, water and gas usage. TUNet is unique in its ability to deliver granular data – i.e. interval data delivered on the interval – to utilities in a cost-effective manner and in virtually any terrain. Integrating UtilityHawk’s robust consumer portal with TUNet leverages real-time access to interval consumption data to help reduce wasted energy and high bills through proactive alerts of potential leaks or abnormally high usage.
The City of Douglas, Georgia is now deploying the combined Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and portal solution for its residential, commercial and industrial accounts. “We are excited to use our smart grid infrastructure investments to deliver real savings and improved service to our customers,” remarked Jan McLarnon, AMI Coordinator for the City of Douglas. “Recently, our Customer Service team was able to use the TUNet-integrated UtilityHawk portal to identify a major water leak at a customer’s home. We were able to notify the customer immediately to help avoid an excessive bill and hundreds of gallons of wasted water. We’re excited to expand access to this integrated application to further enhance customer service for our residential, commercial and industrial accounts.”
UtilityHawk is an intuitive and configurable consumer engagement solution designed to help electric or multi-commodity utilities expand online services and increase customer satisfaction. The solution integrates interval consumption data, delivered by AMI networks such as TUNet, enabling utilities and consumers to monitor usage, view up-to-date billing information and receive alerts.
An integrated portal helps utilities prevent high bill complaint calls and resolve billing issues quicker and more accurately. UtilityHawk automatically identifies irregular usage and leaks so that consumers can be pro-actively notified via text, e-mail or automated call. The system also provides affordable Meter Data Management System (MDMS) capabilities that offer cost savings and improve operational efficiency.
“Tantalus provides one of the most reliable, highest performing smart grid platforms available,” commented Bobby Lee, President of UtilityHawk Solutions. “This partnership will deliver measurable value to utilities because it enables their customers to benefit directly from the utility’s AMI investments. The portal also supports utility staff with a comprehensive set of tools to perform daily tasks more quickly and efficiently.”
“Tantalus’ commitment to increasing the value of our customers’ smart grid investments is our highest priority,” said Chris Germano, Vice President, Product Marketing for Tantalus. “We are pleased to partner with UtilityHawk to offer a proven and affordable portal option for our utility customers. This application truly leverages TUNet’s abilities to push real-time interval data from the edge of the grid. These synergies allow both utilities and consumers to access timely data so that they can be notified of potential issues and take immediate action.”
Tantalus continues to expand its footprint of deployed edge computing devices as well as its ecosystem of smart grid application partners that support open-platform Linux networking. By extending data analytics and exponential computing power to every endpoint, TUNet offers a future-ready smart grid system capable of improving the operating reliability and efficiency of distribution grids both today and in the future.
