MADRID, Spain, April 25, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Telvent GIT S.A. (Nasdaq:TLVT), the Global RealTime IT Company, announced today that Swedish electricity company, Vattenfall Eldistribution AB, has exercised a third option to further extend its agreement with Telvent for the supply and management of an Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) system. The contract extension is valued at more than 18 million euros.
The original Vattenfall contract awarded to Telvent in December, 2005, which supplied an electricity metering system for 300,000 of Vattenfall's residential customers, included options to increase the project scope up to 700,000 meters. The project was first expanded in December, 2006, and this third new contract extension adds a further 100,000 units, bringing the total to 600,000 units to be supplied by June 2008. Approximately 200,000 meters have already been installed.
According to Telvent's chairman and chief executive officer, Manuel Sanchez Ortega, "It has been extremely gratifying to have performed so strongly during the implementation of this project, which has expanded in scope to accommodate double the initial number of residential users. We are confident that the success we have achieved will serve to further increase the strong mutual trust that already exists between our two companies, and will result in Telvent obtaining an even higher level of participation in future Vattenfall expansion and enhancement initiatives."
Telvent is also providing complementary metering and data management services, utilizing an integrated solution for the management and operation of the system, which allows Vattenfall to comply with Swedish regulatory requirements and improve customer service quality. The contract includes management of metering information, reporting, maintenance and support of all system devices in the project. The accuracy and reliability of the real-time information provided by this type of advanced AMR system technology are quickly becoming critical requirements for the billing process efficiency of all modern day electric utilities.
"With this project extension, Telvent will help Vattenfall increase the level of service for all of its clients who will be receiving this new automated metering system technology. This represent more than 70% of their total customer base in Sweden," added Sanchez Ortega. "Telvent's AMR/AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) customers will ultimately realize overall efficiency increases along with corresponding consumption reductions in their service areas, which in itself is a significant, cost effective way to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions."
Telvent's continuing success in the Sweden market is supported by its significant presence in this geography, where it has operated since 2001 and has offices located in Stockholm and Gothenburg.
The Telvent Metering System (TMS) is based on Echelon Corporation's (Nasdaq:ELON) Network Energy Services (NES) technology, which enables a comprehensive range of utility applications. Unlike "traditional" automatic metering reading systems that provide limited functionality, Telvent's TMS technology delivers benefits to every aspect of a utility's operation, from automatic metering and customer services, to distribution operations and value-added business. This solution introduces a new range of possibilities for utilities to deliver increased value to customers through leveraging of demand-side management processes.
Vattenfall is Europe's fifth largest generator of electricity and the largest generator of heat. The Group's sales amount to 13.7 billion euros. Vattenfall's vision is to be a leading European energy company. The Group currently has operations in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Poland. Vattenfall acts in all parts of the electricity value chain -- generation, transmission, distribution and sales. Vattenfall is also active in electricity trading and generates, distributes and sells heat. The Group has about 33,000 employees and the parent company, Vattenfall AB, is wholly owned by the Swedish State.
About Echelon Corporation
Echelon Corporation (Nasdaq:ELON) is a networking company that provides products and systems that can monitor and save energy, lower costs, improve productivity and enhance service, quality, safety and convenience by networking together everyday devices in utility, building, industrial, transportation and home control systems. Tens of millions of smart devices based on Echelon's LonWorks products and Networked Energy Services (NES) systems are in use around the world today bringing benefits to consumers and industry. More information about Echelon can be found at http://www.echelon.com
About Telvent
Telvent (Nasdaq:TLVT), the Global RealTime IT Company, specializes in high value-added products, services and integrated solutions for the Energy, Transportation, Environment and Public Administration industry segments. Its innovative technology and client-proven expertise enable the efficient and secure real-time management of operational and business processes for industry-leading companies worldwide. (www.telvent.com)
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