The UK Government is supporting the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets’ (Ofgem) move to a simpler and fairer energy market.  Prime Minister David Cameron notes, “Even in these tough times when we’re having to take the difficult decisions needed to fix our economy, we’re doing everything we can to help hardworking people and families. That’s why I made a personal commitment to help get energy bills down—and I’m delighted that Ofgem are taking that forward. The package announced today is a huge step towards energy bills that are more fair for everyone. This is about putting people before profits. It’s about pensioners being better able to heat their homes in winter, and families better able to cope when the bills arrive.”

Fortum’s Russian subsidiary OAO Fortum was awarded the grand prize in two categories in the annual Golden Kilowatt competition, which primarily targets energy companies in the Urals and West Siberia. The Golden Kilowatt is the first competition to recognize energy industry achievements in Russia and is presented by the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Urals Federal District.

Itron has appointed Lynda Ziegler to its board of directors. Ziegler, with more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry, Ziegler most recently served as executive vice president of power delivery services at Southern California Edison (SCE).

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has selected Itron’s Automated Meter Reading (AMR) solution for a project in Pakistan, which will provide services for the USAID’s Power Distribution Program. The AMR solution will help Pakistan power distribution companies improve energy efficiency, manage supply and demand, and reduce losses on the network.

MERALCO has selected GE as the systems integrator for the Philippine utility’s s new advanced metering infrastructure integrated solution (AMIIS) project. The contract represents GE’s first AMIIS order in the Asia-Pacific region, which will enable MERALCO to offer prepaid retail electric service.

Despite the much publicized battery problems experienced by Boeing in its new 787, a new report by Frost & Sullivan expects the global lithium-ion battery market to be in excess of $20 billion by 2016. The report notes that although consumer applications account for the highest revenues, the fastest growth is seen in the industrial segment.

The Sensus open standards-based FlexNet communication network has earned MultiSpeak 3.0 certification for interoperability with the popular iVUE system from National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC).

The Guam Power Authority (GPA) and its authorized contractor, APEX Coadvantage, have installed nearly 24,000 new advanced digital meters in the parts of northern and central Guam. The GPA’s Smart Grid (SG) Project started deploying the first 5,000 SG meters to customers in parts of Ypaopao Estates in October 2012.

Itron has released the GPS Reading System software, which is integrated with its AnyQuest mobile solution for water providers, making Itron the first technology company to offer this type of functionality within a handheld computer.

The City of San Diego’s Public Utilities Department (San Diego) has selected Itron’s advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) solution for the automation of the city’s commercial and industrial (C&I) water meters. Itron’s smart solution will help the utility department streamline meter reading and enhance customer service by enabling San Diego to instantaneously access water usage data using the AMI technology. Installation will begin in early 2013 and is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Iberdrola is utilizing new technologies through projects designed to incorporate modern power grids in the company’s service areas. This new infrastructure is based on remote control and grid automation and lets the utility provide clients with new products and services.

United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that rural electric cooperatives and utilities in 12 states will receive loan guarantees to improve generation and transmission facilities and implement more than $8 million in smart grid technologies to help utilities make efficiency improvements to the electric grid and help consumers lower their electric bills by reducing energy use in homes and businesses.

Tendril is partnering with Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and the Arizona Governor’s Office of Energy Policy on a new program designed to demonstrate that secure access to personal energy consumption data can result in reduced energy costs. The home energy management program is being funded through a Department of Energy (DOE) Smart Grid Data Access Award, which encourages utilities, local governments, and communities to create programs that help consumers better manage their power consumption.

The ZigBee Alliance has appointed Bob Heile chairman emeritus and chief technologist. After managing the day-to-day operations of the Alliance for the past 10 years, Heile says he felt it was time to change roles. In his new position, Heile will represent ZigBee Alliance’s technical interests among other standards organizations. Tobin Richardson was appointed chairman and chief executive officer, positions previously held by Heile.

Efforts by the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets’s (Ofgem) to establish a simpler, clearer, and fairer energy sector has prompted British Gas, EDF, E.ON, npower, Scottish Power, and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to publish information on how many complaints they each get and how quickly these issues are handled.

The Illinois Senate Executive Committee has passed Senate Bill 9, which clarifies existing language in the 2011 smart grid law in order to get the state’s smart grid program back on track while maintaining strong consumer protections.

Google will integrate its Maps data into GE’s Smallworld electrical, telecommunications, and gas applications. The combined solution will help utilities increase productivity, enhance the existing network visualization capabilities, and allow utility customers to receive incremental efficiency and productivity of operations in the field.

NEC Italia has announced an agreement with Acea Spa to develop innovative lithium-ion Energy Storage Systems (ESS) to be implemented in Acea’s primary and secondary power substations. The agreement, signed in December 2012, marks the beginning of a major partnership framework between NEC and Acea for enhancing the Smart Grid development in Rome.

Taking advantage of the new regulatory policies for smart meters, Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW) has partnered with Landis+Gyr to promote Germany’s energy transition by developing smart meter solutions for the future energy market. The companies announced their collaboration at the 13th E-world Energy & Water Trade Fair, in Essen, Germany.

Kamstrup has formed a strategic alliance with Elster to create a strong integrated smart meter network for utilities that require more than one meter provider to service their deployments with radio communication (RF) technology.