Press release

Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, January 23, 2008 ABB Partners with Elster in Advanced Grid Infrastructure Initiative

Elster Electricity, part of Elster Group, a world leader in Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and integrated metering and utilization solutions to the gas, electricity and water industries, today announces that ABB has joined the Elster-led Advanced Grid Infrastructure (AGI) Initiative.

The AGI Initiative is a collaborative effort between utilities, Elster and key technology partners to realize innovative AMI-based solutions for the grid of the future. AGI will provide the utility industry with a powerful set of hardware, software and communications solutions needed in the critical area of network automation. This initiative will allow Elster, in collaboration with its partners, to offer standards-based solutions that enable utilities to improve the operation of the electrical network by leveraging their AMI investment. Elster, a member of EPRI’s IntelliGrid program, is committed to the vision of a smarter power grid.

ABB, a global leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance, will work with Elster Electricity on innovative applications that utilize AMI information to improve network performance to realize the vision of an efficient smart power grid.
Mark Munday, Elster Electricity president and CEO said, “We are excited to have ABB join AGI. ABB’s experience in power systems and our EnergyAxis System deployments are significant resources for achieving the utility of the future. Elster is committed to partnering with others to provide innovative solutions to enable the power gird to operate more efficiently.”

“AMI lays the technological groundwork for a modern smart grid, which is something ABB is committed to developing,” said Enrique Santacana, president and CEO of ABB Inc. “Helping our utility customers improve operational efficiency and grid reliability is part of our core focus.”

Elster’s proven EnergyAxis System delivers advanced AMI solutions for the electricity, gas and water industries. Elster has the largest two-way mesh radio frequency AMI deployment in the world that delivers complex billing information, and performs disconnects and reconnects on a daily basis. Elster has already shipped more than 1.3 million two-way EnergyAxis smart meters.