Nearly half of these products have been introduced since 1993, when the emphasis on commercialization was strengthened. In the next few years, thousands of homes in Illinois Power Company s service territory will have units installed, allowing two-way communication with the utility. The technology opens the way for profitable applications such as remote meter reading, equipment diagnosis, security monitoring, load management, and innovative energy pricing. The software equation is so accurate that it has been adopted as a domestic and international standard. Expanding choices in commercial cooling GRI s success in developing engine-driven chillers prompted The Trane Company to enter the market in 1997.
More gas cooling vendors give customers greater equipment choice and price competition.
During the past three years, engine chiller sales have steadily increased as customers have come to understand the operating cost savings that gas cooling delivers. Reducing production costs A new process, called freeze-thaw evaporation, cut in half the cost of treating produced water during field tests with Amoco and the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional testing of this promising technology is under way. With the funding issue close to a FERC decision, we now turn to business development issues that will enable GRI to move ahead during the next seven years and beyond. Addressing these issues is our number one priority in 1998.