Elster Group Launches Worldwide Energy Saving Solution

Luxembourg (ots) - Elster Group, the world's leading manufacturer
and supplier of metering and utilisation solutions to the gas,
electricity and water industries, has today launched a smart metering
solution that will help address the issues of climate change and
energy costs.

A new business unit, Elster Integrated Solutions (EIS) based in
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, will drive global programmes to help
utilities worldwide adopt the very latest smart metering systems.
Automated Meter Reading (AMR) and Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI)
are designed specifically for gas, electricity and water utility
customers. These smart meters can help with some of the most pressing
current environmental issues.

"As a world leader in metering Elster delivers advanced metering
solutions to gas, electricity and water utilities that enable meters
to be read remotely over smart wireless and fixed networks," said
Elster Group CEO, Thomas Ganswindt. "These meters enable providers to
check on an end-user's usage more frequently, in turn facilitating
more frequent tariff changes including demand-responsive tariffs
which enable prices to follow demand. Smart meters can send warnings
to the consumer to turn on or turn off appliances. The end result is
energy and resource savings. Highly accurate and fair billing will
show the real use of energy and scarce resources by consumers."

Research (see Berg Insight M2M Research Series 2006) shows that
shortening the link between consumption and billing makes residential
and industrial consumers more price-responsive and therefore more
economical with their energy usage. The Berg Insight research also
shows that there is a huge market for this type of technology. Some
European countries are already using smart meters, especially in
Italy and in some Scandinavian countries.

"Metering is a fundamental business enabler for utility companies.
In Europe alone there are approximately 244 million electricity
meters and 101 million gas meters," continues Ganswindt. "The
liberalisation of energy markets requires that the utility meters of
tomorrow be connected to data communication networks. Elster's
investment in technology and people will help reduce operating costs,
drive additional revenue streams for our customers and further
improve the quality of energy usage for consumers. When installed,
Elster smart meters will also help improve our environment."

President of Elster Integrated Solutions is industry veteran
Sharon Allan. Allan joined Elster in 1997 from IBM and most recently
was chief knowledge officer of Elster Electricity. In 2002, she was
named one of the '50 Key Women in Energy' for her global leadership
in the area of innovation and creativity within the industry.

„We deliver and integrate metering automation solutions for our
customers so that they can better manage their business in the area
of gas, electricity, and water usage as well as facilitate new
end-customer programmes," said Allan. "Whether it is AMR or AMI, we
enable business and customer management from the metering
information. Core to our solution is the use of intelligent mobile
and fixed network communications."

With a turnover in 2005 of over Euro 1.3 billion, the Elster Group
is the largest metering company in the world. A trailblazer in terms
of quality and innovation, the Group continues to invest in the
latest metering and communications technology.

Mark Munday, president and CEO of Elster Electricity, has been
appointed executive vice president of the combined Elster electricity
and water businesses in North America. Mark has over 26 years of
experience in the industry, and for the last 6 years has headed the
Elster Electricity business unit in Raleigh.

"The launch of Elster Integrated Solutions will help drive our
North American business forward, providing our customers with the
information they need to shape strategic decisions about efficient
energy use," said Munday. "Our expertise and heritage in the metering
market are combined in the EIS business to accelerate the delivery of
actionable intelligence to the 62,000 utilities that we work with
across the region."

Thomas Ganswindt concludes, "As well as the clear opportunity that
Elster Integrated Solutions delivers in North America, it is a
strategic first step for our global offering"

- ENDS

Originaltext: Elster Group
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For further information contact:

Nick Chaloner, Elster Group: + 44 7920 597 497,
nick.chaloner@elster.com

About Elster Group

Elster Group (formerly Ruhrgas Industries), is the world's leading
manufacturer and supplier of highly accurate, high quality,
integrated metering and utilisation solutions to the gas, electricity
and water industries. In addition, through its subsidiary Ipsen
International, it is the leading global manufacturer of high level
thermo-chemical treatment equipment.

The group has over 9,000 staff and operations in 37 countries,
focused in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Elster's high
quality products and systems reflect the wealth of knowledge and
experience gained from over 170 years of dedication measuring
precious resources and energy. The Elster Group is headquartered in
Luxembourg.