The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has published two smart grid specifications that aim to help drive the development and deployment of open, interoperable smart grid technologies internationally. The Renew Grid article features a quote from Bastian Fischer, Vice President, Industry Strategy, Oracle Utilities, who notes that industry's involvement in standards development is critical, as standards contribute to innovation.

Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited (Toronto Hydro) - one of the largest municipal electric distribution utilities in Canada delivering power to approximately 705,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across the city of Toronto - implemented Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing to enhance its billing processes.

Rodger Smith, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities, writes about how advanced distribution management can bridge the grid modernization chasm.

Oracle's Brad Williams discussed how ADMS capabilities will allow utilities to simulate the optimal solution with the fewest number of switching operations needed to relieve an overload condition.

Highlighting that according to a report by Pike Research, demand for water is outpacing the rate of population growth by more than double, and government data forecasts water shortages in 26 U.S. states by 2013. The article notes that an October 2010 study by Oracle Utilities titled "Testing the Water: Smart Metering for Water Utilities" concluded that 76 percent of customers were concerned with water conservation and 69 percent believed they could reduce personal water usage. The article also includes comments from Stephan Scholl, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities in a 2010 statement noting that smart meter technologies can produce the actionable data required to provide consumers with information they can use to make smarter decisions about water consumption.

Highlighting that Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0.1, running with Oracle Exadata Database Machine X2-2 and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud X2-2 processed 1 billion meter reads per hour. The article notes that Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management also responded to 19.3 million requests for bill determinants per hour. The article also includes comments from Linda Jackman, group vice president of Industry Strategy of Oracle Utilities noting that the testing assured utilities that Oracle hardware and software can process the huge volumes of data arriving from interval reads and ensure the usability of the data to produce the accurate, timely bills customers expect.

Highlighting that Echelon Corporation has teamed with Oracle to help utilities better manage outages, protect revenue, offer demand response, and offer prepayment options. The article notes that Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway integrated with Echelon's smart metering solution, allows utilities to deploy multiple applications to manage their assets and customers. The article also includes comments from Bastian Fischer, vice president industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that utilities need to act now even though regulations, standards and available technology will change, so they are looking for an open, multi-application solution that will grow with them over time.

Highlighting the latest utilities news that came from Oracle OpenWorld 2011. The article notes that Oracle Business Intelligence for utilities currently enabled are revenue and credit and collection key performance indicators that can be viewed geospatially. The article also highlights other Oracle Utilities products including Oracle Utilities Customer Care & Billing and Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management.

Highlighting that Oracle and Echelon have collaborated and are offering a new integrated solution that will help them manage outages and new applications more efficiently, as well as introduce renewable energy sources. The article notes that Oracle integrated their Utilities Smart Grid Gateway with Echelon's smart metering solution to enable utilities to deploy multiple applications quickly and safely and help reduce the cost and complexity of enhancing smart grids with new devices, data streams and business processes. The article also includes comments from Bastian Fischer, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that utilities need to act now even though regulations, standards and available technology will change, so they are looking for an open, multi-application solution that will grow with them over time.

Highlighting that Echelon Corporation has teamed with Oracle to help utilities better manage outages, protect revenue, offer demand response, and offer prepayment options. The article notes that Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway integrated with Echelon's smart metering solution, allows utilities to deploy multiple applications to manage their assets and customers. The article also includes comments from Bastian Fischer, vice president industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that utilities need to act now even though regulations, standards and available technology will change, so they are looking for an open, multi-application solution that will grow with them over time.

Highlighting that Echelon announced its association with Oracle to assist utilities to manage outages, protect their revenue, offer demand response, and offer prepayment options. The article notes that leveraging the Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway integrated with Echelon's smart metering solution, utilities can deploy multiple applications to manage their assets and customers. The article also includes comments from Bastian Fischer, vice president industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that utilities need to act now even though regulations, standards and available technology will change, so they are looking for an open, multi-application solution that will grow with them over time.

Highlighting that Echelon Corporation has teamed with Oracle to help utilities better manage outages, protect revenue, offer demand response, and offer prepayment options. The article notes that Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway integrated with Echelon's smart metering solution enables utilities to deploy multiple applications to manage their assets and customers. The article also includes comments from Bastian Fischer, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle and Echelon are pleased to offer a highly flexible solution that is adaptable to changing customer, operations and regulatory needs.

Highlighting that Echelon Corporation is integrating its smart metering technology with the Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway to give utilities an efficient means to deploy multiple smart grid applications. The article notes that Echelon's head-end-based system software pre-processes the data collected from meters or other smart devices deployed and passes it to the Oracle Utilities gateway which then presents this data in a unified fashion to Oracle's suite of applications.

Highlighting that to help better manage outages, Echelon and Oracle are teaming up to offer them a new, integrated solution. The article notes that the Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway, integrated with Echelon's smart metering solution, is designed to help utilities more quickly and reliably deploy multiple applications to manage assets and customers. The article also includes comments from Bastian Fischer, vice president industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that utilities need to act now even though regulations, standards and available technology will change, so they are looking for an open, multi-application solution that will grow with them over time.

Highlighting that Oracle's recent testing has demonstrated that the Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0.1 system, running in tandem with Oracle Exadata Database Machine X2-2 and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud X2-2, can successfully process 1 billion meter reads per hour. The article notes that the test used data from 5.5 million smart meters measuring consumption in 15-minute intervals. The article also includes comments from Linda Jackman, group vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that the test assures utilities that Oracle hardware and software - engineered to work together, and available today - can process the huge volumes of data arriving from interval reads and ensure the usability of the data to produce the accurate, timely bills customers expect.

Highlighting the performance of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0.1, running with Oracle Exadata Database Machine X2-2 and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud X2-2. The article notes that running Oracle's utilities meter data management software through its database machine and cloud platform processed the equivalent of four consumption measurements per hour coming from 250 million advanced energy meters. The article also includes comments from Linda Jackman, group vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that new utilities technologies are bringing with them huge increases in data volumes and residential smart meters alone will increase the consumption data processed for billing purposes from 12 meter reads per year to 35,000 or more.

Highlighting that utility executives will gather at the upcoming Oracle OpenWorld San Francisco conference, October 2-6, 2011 at Moscone Center, to share new ways to leverage Oracle applications, technology and systems that help enable smart grid and other priority industry programs. The release notes that as part of a series of more than 40 sessions, demonstrations and networking events focused on utilities trends and solutions and will deliver presentations on how they work with Oracle on technology initiatives that help support strategies for improved efficiency, performance and customer service. The release also includes comments from Rodger Smith, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle designed the dedicated Utilities track for attendees to gain valuable information on how to respond to a changing business environment, stay ahead of environmental initiatives and offer customers better service.