35 million dollars contract, last year sale: 3.74 millions.
Thursday October 30 11:32 AM EST
Company Press Release
Puget Sound Energy and CellNet Data Systems to Provide Network Meter
Reading Services to 700,000 Energy Customers
SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 1997--CellNet Data Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNDS), a leading
provider of wireless data communications and Network Meter Reading (NMR) services, and Puget Sound Energy Inc.
(NYSE:PSD), today announced a contract under which CellNet will provide NMR services to approximately 700,000 Puget
Sound Energy customers in the Puget Sound area.
The network may ultimately be extended to cover all of the 1.1 million customers in Puget Sound Energy's service territory. As
a part of the agreement, Puget Sound Energy will provide up to $35 million in financing to fund the network deployment. The
agreement is subject to satisfactory completion of the documentation of these financing arrangements. Network installation is
scheduled to begin in March.
The network will provide NMR services to approximately 550,000 electricity and 150,000 gas residential, commercial and
industrial customers, reading both single- and polyphase electric meters. The networks services will also include automatic
outage detection; power theft detection; remote switch-on and switch-off and flexible billing.
Gary Swofford, Puget Sound Energy vice president, customer operations, said, ''We've proven the benefits of CellNet's
wireless network over the past year in our pilot network serving roughly 15,000 Puget Sound Energy customers. We're now
eager to apply these network services to a larger group of Puget Sound Energy's electricity and gas customers. The automatic
power outage and theft detection features, as well as the capability of our customers to monitor energy usage, will help our
utility pr Puget Sound Energy and CellNet Data Systems to Provide Network Meter Reading Services to 700,000 Energy
Customers provide enhanced customer services, and to control costs and advance system restoration.''
John M. (Mick) Seidl, CellNet president and chief executive officer, said, ''We, too, have been very pleased with the overall
success of our initial network at Puget Sound Energy. The integration of network data with Puget Sound Energy was among the
fastest and most seamless to a utility customer to date. We now look forward to working with Puget Sound Energy to roll out
the network to 700,000 electric and gas customers throughout the Puget Sound area.''
In support of the network, ConnexT of Seattle, an independent energy services company of which Puget Sound Energy, Inc.
holds a majority stake, will provide data integration via its Meter Manager applications software as well as other Computer
Information Services (CIS).
CellNet has contracts for the installation of its wireless data networks with Kansas City Power & Light (Kansas City), Union
Electric Company (St. Louis), Northern States Power Company (Minneapolis-St. Paul), Pacific Gas and Electric Company
(San Francisco Bay area) , Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (Olympia), and Indianapolis Power & Light Company (Indianapolis).
The networks installed at Kansas City Power & Light and Union Electric Company are the largest commercially deployed for
Network Meter Reading today.
The Companies
CellNet Data Systems, Inc., with headquarters in San Carlos, Calif., and with approximately 800,000 devices on-line and 3.4
million meters under contract, is a leading provider of cost-effective wireless data communication services in the United States.
CellNet's networks enable a wide range of on-line, real-time customer service options and applications for the utility industry
and other commercial markets. For more information visit cellnet.com .
Puget Sound Energy (NYSE:PSD) is Washington state's largest energy utility, providing electric and natural gas service to more
than 1.1 million customers, primarily in Washington state's Puget Sound region. Puget Sound Energy was created in February
1997 through the merger of Puget Sound Power & Light Company and Washington Energy Company, parent of Washington
Natural Gas. An investor-owned utility, Puget Sound Energy has 3,000 employees and $1.6 billion in operating revenues
(12/96 data).
Certain statements contained in this News Release are forward-looking statements and therefore are made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties,
including the successful completion of the documentation for the financing based on terms already agreed and the future
extension of the contract to cover additional portions of Puget Sound Energys service territory which has not yet been agreed.
Actual results may differ and such differences may be material. See other risk factors set forth in the Company's most recent
Form 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
CellNet Data Systems
Alex Tsigdinos, 650/508-6976
or
Puget Sound Energy
Dorothy Bracken, 888/831-7250 |
