The system not only takes wireless meter readings but can also alert FPL and customer personnel of power interruptions 24 hours a day. At 2 a.m., for example, the system can send pages to a customer's electrician, says Ed Brill, FPL's power quality business manager. He'll get the specific information, and he can decide what to do. Sometimes, a problem can be corrected before a customer knows of the problem. Despite their enthusiasm, Brill and his colleagues acknowledge that wireless technology still poses some serious challenges.
Gaps remain in coverage where they have to install a phone line to read a meter.
By December, they had installed more than 200 wireless meters out of a planned 4,000. And although SmartSynch has laid out architecture that would allow FPL to install its smart meter technology for residential customers, FPL can't yet justify that investment. But by gaining this experience with wireless, we feel we're ahead of the game. Like many in the industry, Celanese only recently started warming up to e-business, receiving its first order over the Web in September. Salespeople build careful relationships with clients and are reticent to pull out laptop computers when they're in the middle of a negotiation.