01/10-09   -   Press releases

Universal Powerline Association (UPA) & U-SNAP Alliance Develop Partnership

The Universal Powerline Association (UPA), a leading industry consortium involved in the global education and promotion of Open and Interoperable Powerline communication technologies; and the U-SNAP (Utility Smart Network Access Port) Alliance today announce the signing of agreements that jointly foster collaboration and education among utilities, AMI suppliers, HAN vendors, industry consultants, academics and regulators who seek interoperable, secure and cost effective solutions for extending the Smart Grid to energy aware consumer products.

The U-SNAP Alliance was formed by a group of utility industry leaders to create a low cost connector standard in order to enable consumer products the ability to communicate with any vendor´s smart meter.

Under the agreement, the UPA and U-SNAP will cooperate with each other to support each group´s activities and to share information to the mutual benefit of the two organizations´ memberships and overall objectives. A primary focus will be on the creation of U-SNAP based powerline solutions for connecting U-SNAP devices over the grid to the meter and beyond.

"This collaboration will combine the technical and marketing capabilities of both organizations to successfully meet market challenges and to further enhance interoperable and coexistent powerline networking technologies for the benefit of consumers worldwide," stated Daniel Drolet, Chairman of the UPA.

"The U-SNAP Alliance looks forward to working closely with the UPA to ensure the support for, and promotion of, the bridging of UPA Global Powerline Technologies with U-SNAP Smart Grid and Energy Aware Consumer Products," said Jon Rappaport, Chairman of U-SNAP Alliance.

The UPA and U-SNAP Alliance will be announcing additional technical efforts & results in the coming weeks. Global Utilities, Appliance Manufacturers, Meter Manufacturers and other interested parties are invited to be a part of the effort by joining the UPA´s Utility Commission. Retailers are also encouraged to participate through the UPA´s Retail Advisory Council.

UPA Media Contact:
Donald Pollock
UPA Permanent Secretary
Phone: + 44 178 047 0003
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U-SNAP Alliance Media Contact:
Barry Haaser
U-SNAP Alliance Executive Director
Phone: +1 408 833 6241
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About the Universal Powerline Association
The Universal Powerline Association (UPA) is an International not-for-profit trade association providing a forum for the design and development of interoperable and open specifications and focused on promoting the successful international application of Powerline technologies. The UPA provides all Powerline players the opportunity to respond to key customer expectations with open standards, based on interoperability, security and coexistence and supported by exclusive and independent certifications, the only global guarantee of quality and confidence for high-speed power line technology available today.
Members of the UPA include: AcBel Polytech Inc., Ambient Corporation, Buffalo Inc., Comtrend, D-Link, DS2, Freedom Digital Networks, China Gridcom Company Ltd, PCN Technology, Power Monitors Inc., Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH and Toyo Networks & System Integration Co. Ltd. Additional information about the UPA is available at www.upaplc.org

About the U-SNAP Alliance
The U-SNAP Alliance is an open industry association developing an industry standard for connecting energy aware consumer products with smart meters. The Alliance will create and publish a standard, establish testing and certification procedures for product conformance and educate consumers, utilities and vendors on the benefits of the standard. Alliance membership is comprised of utilities, manufacturers, consultants and other parties interested in developing or deploying the standard. For more information, or to find out how to join the Alliance, please visit www.usnap.org

Members of The U-SNAP Alliance include: 4Home, Alliant Energy, Benton PUD, Celestica International, CLECO, Comverge, Direct Energy, eRadio, GainSpan, GE Consumer & Industrial, Intwine Connect, LS Research, Niagara-on-the-Lake Hydro, NURI Telecom Co., Ltd, Portland General Electric and Our Home Spaces, Radio Thermostat Company of America, Sensus, Trilliant, and ZeroG Wireless.