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Echelon Partners on APEC Meetings to Bring Smart Grid Best Practices to Growing Asia Pacific Countries
[September 13, 2011]

Echelon Partners on APEC Meetings to Bring Smart Grid Best Practices to Growing Asia Pacific Countries


SAN FRANCISCO --(Business Wire)--

Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON), a global leader in energy control networking for smart grid applications, is a proud sponsor and member of the steering committee member of the California Host Committee managed by the Bay Area Council for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials and working meetings which take place in San Francisco September 11-26, 2011. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will be hosting a Transportation and Energy Ministerial Conference on September 13 to discuss how to move the 21 APEC economies to an energy-efficient, sustainable, low-carbon transport future. At these and related events, ministers from throughout the Asia Pacific region will join approximately 3000 public- and private-sector delegates to review lessons learned and share ideas for improving the economy and preserving the environment.

Smart grid technologies, and the variety of energy sources and distribution points they can manage, are a critical aspect of this discussion. Developing common standards will speed deployment and improve economies of scale. Last month, APEC specifically held a two-day workshop on advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and smart grids in Chinese Taipei, where energy experts from APEC economies gathered to discuss their current energy priority needs. The Ministerial Conference chaired by secretaries Chu and LaHood will then lead into a several related discussions to coordinate regulations on energy networks, including a meeting next week on smart grid nteroperability standards.

Smart grids are one of the key conduits to increasing the adoption rate of renewable energy technologies, said Dr. Jerry Ou, Director-General of Chinese Taipei's Ministry of Economic Affairs' Energy Bureau, at the opening of the APEC workshop. "The adoption of renewable energy technologies and the deployment of AMI and smart grids are potential solutions for energy crises and environmental protection," said Dr. Ou. Developing smart grids and deploying AMI to facilitate the delivery of energy to homes and businesses is also important because it enables the flow of new and renewable energy sources to consumers.

"We look forward to sharing what Echelon, our customers and our partners have learned from building the smart grid throughout Europe and the U.S. with over 2.7 billion consumers in large, developing economies such as China, Thailand, Malaysia and other APEC countries. With the experience that comes from connecting more than 35 million homes to the smart grid around the world in the past decade, we can help APEC countries accelerate their commitment to a greener world," said Ron Sege, President and CEO of Echelon.


The San Francisco APEC meetings are officially called the Third APEC Senior Officials Meeting and Related Meetings (SOM 3). Despite the daunting title, the subject is simple: jobs and growth. The meetings span such topics as competitiveness of small and medium business, women and the economy, transportation and energy efficiency, green technology, and smart grids. Meetings at SOM 3 will work to enhance regional economic integration, green growth, and public-private partnerships on regional cooperation and regulatory convergence.

More information about Echelon can be found at http://www.echelon.com. More information about APEC can be found at http://www.apec.org.

About Echelon Corporation

Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON) is the world's leading open-standard energy control networking company. Echelon technologies connect more than 35 million homes, 300,000 buildings and 100 million devices to the smart grid, and help customers save 20% or more on their energy usage. With more than 20 years of experience in energy control, Echelon delivers a wide range of innovative solutions to commercial and electric utility customers. More information about Echelon can be found at http://www.echelon.com.

Echelon and the Echelon logo are registered trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the United States and other countries. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

This press release may contain statements relating to future plans, events or performance. Such statements may involve risks and uncertainties, including the risk that Echelon's offerings do not perform as designed or do not offer the expected benefits and savings; and other risks identified in Echelon's SEC (News - Alert) filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Echelon undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.


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