NZ smart metering deal

Gordon Peters
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 23:31

IT Industry - Deals

Global enterprise applications company, IFS, has signed a deal with New Zealand utility company, Metrix, as part of the utility's smart metering rollout.

Metrix, a division of Mighty River Power and the leading electricity meter owner and operator in greater Auckland, has already deployed more than 100,000 smart meters in Auckland, and is well on the way to completing its Auckland roll out.

Mark Thompson, IS manager at Metrix said smart meters will provide services to both consumers and utilities, including the ability to read, connect or disconnect meters remotely, as well as respond faster to power outages. The company provides residential and commercial metering equipment, including load control devices throughout the North Island to all electricity retailers and also supplies services to the wider electricity industry.

Thompson said a selection process was conducted to ensure the eventual vendor would help Metrix take their business to the next level and achieve a return on investment. 'IFS provided us with more flexibility than their competitors, not only in terms of implementation but also how seamlessly it would integrate with the existing IT infrastructure, which is essential to the growth of the business. The IFS team gained our trust very quickly, had an excellent understanding of our industry and were a pleasure to work with throughout the selection process.'

According to Thompson, preparations for the implementation of Metrix new IFS ERP system are already well under way, currently in the design phase of the project.

IFS managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Rob Stummer, said today that the contract with Metrix highlights a 'real demand for an enterprise applications alternative and we look forward to increasing our market share further in Australia and New Zealand.

Stummer said the utility industry is a key market focus for IFS and the company had a significant amount of experience in this area, adding that customers in Australia and New Zealand include AB Equipment, Dairy Australia, Lufthansa Technik Qantas, Uhde Shedden, Hawker Pacific, Visy and Globus Group.