IBM has been selected to continue supporting the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to operate Ontario's meter data management and repository (MDM/R) system with new computing infrastructure and an updated operating environment. The five-year, C$68.5 million contract was awarded following a competitive procurement process and includes options to extend to seven or 10 years.
Under the agreement, IBM says it will help improve the overall performance of the MDM/R through new computing infrastructure, enhanced Web services to support increasing volumes of requests for consumption information, disaster recovery capabilities, and operational improvements with a focus on reducing risk and costs.
The MDM/R is a core part of Ontario's smart metering initiative to drive a culture of conservation, enabling the billing of time-of-use rates and encouraging consumers to shift more of their energy use to off-peak periods, IBM adds. The MDM/R supports the meter-to-billing operations of 72 local distribution utilities and their 4.7 million customers.
"The IESO needed a service provider with extensive knowledge and experience operating such a large-scale, complex, high-transaction volume service," says Przemek Tomczak, director of smart metering at the IESO. "After conducting a thorough and extensive competitive procurement process, we are pleased to have IBM operate the MDM/R at the lowest risk and total cost of ownership to the IESO, local distribution utilities and ratepayers of Ontario."
