TMCnet News
Launch of Wigton as a Smart Energy CommunityWIGTON IN CUMBRIA, England --(Business Wire)-- The town of Wigton in Cumbria is proud to announce it has completed the first stage of an initiative to become a 'Smart Energy Community'. The initiative was launched by the town's Member of Parliament, Rory Stewart, as part of a town celebration day on 11th May, 2013. Wigton has a vision to trial and realise communal benefits from the possibilities of innovative technologies. The town was previously a pilot area for the introduction of rural broadband and through this initiative the community seeks to become empowered to take control of its energy needs. The initiative will introduce growing awareness, insight and control of energy costs through proactive adoption of smart metering, information displays, online portals and sharing of learning about benefits achieved. Silver Spring Networks, Inc. (NYSE: SSNI), a leading networking platform and solutions provider for smart energy networks, is committed to bringing benefits to UK consumers from its global experience in smart energy and has partnered with the town to showcase how communities can become empowered in their energy use. The Wigton community and Silver Spring Networks have worked in collaboration within the town by engaging with people in their homes and town premises. Their work together has delivered an operational pilot with smart meters operating over a wireless communications network that gives consumers visibility of their energy use and information to help them control their costs. Through the information available from the smart meters, consumers in the town will be more able to make decisions related to energy efficiency, home investment and energy use of appliances. At the heart of the initiative is the sharing of insight and learning across the community using a display area in the Market Hall, websites and communal discussion. Over time the pilot is expected to grow in the number of homes, businesses and council buildings and extend into showcasing the benefits to the town of renewable energy, energy controls, innovative heating solutions, insight about water use and electric vehicles. As the initiative expands it will show how a rural town such as Wigton can work together in partnership with innovative supporters such as Silver Spring Networks and their partners to become a showcase for innovation, realising communal benefits and creating local opportunity. Wigton wishes to acknowledge the support from partners such as Innovia Films, a leading global producer of specialty high performance BOPP and Cellulose films for packaging and labels, Electricity North West, the local Distribution Network Operator (DNO) and EnergyAware, a global leader in consumer engagement and energy analytics. The initiative has demonstrated how communities and business can work together in the development of a secure, sustainable and affordable energy future. Rory Stewart MP said, "This is a hugely significant event for Wigton: not only does it put Wigton on the map as a community willing to take practical steps to address fuel poverty, but is the beginning of many other potential benefits to both residents and businesses in the town. Our aim is to grow the pilot so that it will, eventually, cover more homes, businesses and public spaces, creating a true town-wide network. The long-term benefits to Wigton are huge: greater energy options, the means to control energy usage and reduce bills, explore innovative heating solutions, and even the use of electricvehicles. There will be no hidden costs in energy bills, and this initiative comes at no cost to any Wigton resident: it is all about people making energy savings through becoming more energy-aware, and we are extremely lucky to have secured such an exciting opportunity for the people of Wigton". Brian McGuigan of Silver Spring Networks who leads the initiative with the town said, "It has been a pleasure to work with the town and see their enthusiasm for the initiative. They have been engaged and interested in how they can take control of their energy future. It will be exciting to build on the early learnings and bring further benefits to the community". James Pace, Managing Director of Silver Spring Networks in the UK & Ireland said, "Silver Spring Networks is focused on empowering consumers and communities to take control of their energy costs through greater visibility and insights into energy consumption. We are proud to work in partnership with the town of Wigton and Rory Stewart, their Member of Parliament, to accelerate consumers starting to achieve control of their energy use and associated cost saving benefits as envisaged by the government from the forthcoming full smart metering roll-out. We look forward to our future work together to extend the initiative across the community, to trial the benefits for the town of new technologies, and to share the learning from Wigton with other communities". Notes to Editors: To discuss Wigton as a community and its commitment to deliver benefits from innovation please contact Rory Stewart, Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Borders. Information about Silver Spring Networks: http://www.silverspringnet.com/uk Information about the UK government's roll out of smart metering and communal energy is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change Information about supporting partners to the initiative: About Silver Spring Networks Silver Spring Networks is a leading networking platform and solutions provider for smart energy networks. Our pioneering IPv6 networking platform, with 16.5 million Silver Spring enabled devices delivered, is connecting utilities to homes and business throughout the world with the goal of achieving greater energy efficiency for the planet. Silver Spring's innovative solutions enable utilities to gain operational efficiencies, improve grid reliability, and empower consumers to monitor and manage energy consumption. Silver Spring Networks is used by major utilities around the globe including Baltimore Gas & Electric, CitiPower & Powercor, Commonwealth Edison, CPS Energy, Florida Power & Light, Jemena Electricity Networks Limited, Pacific Gas & Electric, Pepco Holdings, and Progress Energy, among others. For more information please visit www.silverspringnet.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements about Silver Spring Networks' expectations, plans, intentions, and strategies, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the scope and duration of Silver Spring's project with the Town of Wigton. Statements including words such as "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or "future" and statements in the future tense are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions, which, if they do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include those described in Silver Spring Networks' Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Silver Spring Networks as of the date hereof. Silver Spring Networks assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
|
