GE is helping transform the electric grid in Houston, Texas — one of the largest in the United States reaching more than 2.4 million consumers — with a deal announced today to provide wireless communications in support of its Smart Grid system.


Talk radio: GE Digital Energy’s MDS Mercury 3650 radios will provide wireless support to homes in Houston as part of CenterPoint Energy’s steps to develop a smart grid.

GE Digital Energy — the “brains” behind GE’s smart grid technology — is working with CenterPoint Energy to implement a smart grid system called Advanced Metering System (AMS). It’s designed to provide Houston-based consumers with the ability to better monitor and manage electric use and cost in near real-time. GE will provide wireless communications to support the electric utility’s AMS, which will transmit electric utility meter data from consumers’ homes and businesses to CenterPoint Energy’s data center. Ultimately this information will give consumers access to new products and services that will allow them to remotely control their appliances via the Internet, know how much electricity their appliances are using and what electricity rates they are paying at any given time.

The AMS is CenterPoint Energy’s first step in developing a smart grid. This month, it began replacing existing meters with smart meters — with more than 145,000 to be installed across the Houston area by the end of 2009.

* Read the announcement
* Learn more about plugging into the Smart Grid
* Learn more about GE Digital Energy