ATLANTA, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Cellnet(R) today announced that it has entered a new 15 year expansion contract with Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based We Energies, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE:WEC) .
Under the terms of the agreement, Cellnet and We Energies will expand the fixed-network advanced metering program with the addition of 201,000 new electric and gas customers throughout service areas in Kenosha, Racine, Waukesha, and portions of Washington and Ozaukee counties. The new contract also provides for the addition of approximately 4,000 new commercial gas customers in the Milwaukee area.
The contract represents the fourth system expansion since the program started in 2001. We Energies is one of the largest United States providers of on-demand, advanced metering services to its customers.
Upon installation of the latest expansion, We Energies’ fixed-network advanced metering program with Cellnet will cover over 1,530,000 electric and gas customers throughout its service territory. During 2006, Cellnet and We Energies installed an average of over 23,000 new electric and gas customers a month under the program.
We Energies vice president of customer service Joan Shafer remarked, “Our smart metering program is an important component of our long-term strategy to continually improve the services and information we provide our customers.” In October 2006 Chartwell awarded We Energies its Best Practice Award for utility customer service in recognition of We Energies’ ‘We Care Program.’
Cellnet president and CEO Mike Zito concluded, “We Energies is setting a very high market standard for customer service. Cellnet is justifiably proud of the success of the We Energies advanced metering program that is reinforced by this fourth contract expansion in five years.” The Cellnet contract with We Energies was executed with subsidiary Cellnet Technology Midwest, Inc.
About Cellnet :
Cellnet provides intelligent communication and automation solutions to energy and water businesses worldwide. The company’s offerings include advanced metering infrastructure, in-premise networks, automated meter reading, SCADA and distribution automation. Cellnet’s proven record of delivering customer value is supported by over 13 million endpoints and contracted revenue of $2.2 billion over fifteen years. For more information visit www.cellnet.com.
About We Energies:
We Energies serves more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and more than 1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. Its energy prices are approximately 10 percent below the average for major U.S. cities. We Energies is the trade name of Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Wisconsin Gas LLC, the principal utility subsidiaries of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE:WEC) . Visit the We Energies Web site at www.we-energies.com. Learn more about Wisconsin Energy Corporation by visiting www.wisconsinenergy.com.
