Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), an Orlando-based, publicly owned utilities company also known as The Reliable One, becomes one of the first utilities companies in the United States to install Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.x for water customers.

Orlando, FL – August 01, 2014- Atlanta-based Red Clay Consulting announced today that the Orlando Utilities Commission Phase II implementation of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management (MDM) 2.x and Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway (SGG) successfully went live on January 20, 2014. After continued monitoring and evaluation since Go Live, the newly implemented architecture and functionality have finished the initial observation period and are now accepted as fully operational.

This successful implementation includes several cutting-edge victories for Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), Oracle Utilities, and Red Clay Consulting. “As OUC started this project, we recognized that this implementation would be pioneering unchartered territory for U.S. utilities, but we were confident we had the right team, the right partners, and the right solution for success,” said Hedi Ago, IT Director at Orlando Utilities Commission. “We were fortunate to have a partner like Red Clay Consulting as the system integrator for this project. Their professionalism, dedication, and expertise enabled us to achieve quality implementation on time and on budget.”

As one of the first water customer on this platform and version in the United States, OUC set the bar for excellence with approximately 90,000 AMI water meters supported by Oracle Utilities MDM 2.x. Over the course of the next year, this number is expected to exceed 145,000, as additional water meters are replaced with AMI meters on the new system architecture. Integrating water meters with MDM will help reduce OUC’s manual process of uploading meter reads captured in the field, and can provide customer service representatives one central user interface to service multi-service customers when viewing customers’ usage and billing information. This will automate move in/move out field activities by retrieving on-demand reads from MDM, reducing the need for truck rolls. Phase II also included the addition of electric meters and rates that were not included in Phase I. These meters total more than 240,000 and include rates for residential and small commercial customers.

Extensive automation of field activities via Oracle Utilities SGG’s device communications capabilities comprises another valuable component to this successful implementation phase. These capabilities enable OUC to remotely manage and control AMI meters, specifically for connect/disconnect capability. Shortly after Go Live, OUC was able to remotely reconnect a customer’s meter right after receiving payment in one of its payment centers.

For more information, please visit http://www.redclay.com.

About Red Clay Consulting
Founded in 2001, Atlanta-based Red Clay Consulting has a strong record of providing systems integration and software implementation solutions to energy and utilities companies. Red Clay is a Gold-level member of Oracle PartnerNetwork. Lead with integrity by industry experts, the Red Clay team is composed of dedicated, driven, and enthusiastic employees. Visit www.redclay.com to learn more about our mission of doing what’s right and fair for our clients, our employees, and our company.

About the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC)
Established in 1923 by a special act of the Florida Legislature, OUC—The Reliable One is the second largest municipal utility in Florida. OUC provides electric and water services to nearly 230,000 customers in Orlando, St. Cloud, and parts of unincorporated Orange and Osceola counties.

About Oracle Utilities
Oracle Utilities delivers proven software applications that help utilities of all types and sizes achieve competitive advantage, business performance excellence and a lower total cost of technology ownership. Oracle Utilities integrates industry-specific customer care and billing, network management, work and asset management, mobile workforce management and meter data management applications with the capabilities of Oracle’s industry-leading enterprise applications, business intelligence tools, middleware, and database technologies. The software enables customers to adapt more nimbly to market deregulation, meet ever-evolving customer demands and deliver on environmental conservation commitments. Additionally, Oracle Utilities helps utilities prepare for smart metering and smart grid initiatives that enhance efficiency and provide critical intelligence metrics that can help drive more-informed energy and water usage decisions for consumers and businesses. For more information, visit www.oracle.com/goto/utilities.

About Oracle
Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center. For more information about Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), visit www.oracle.com.

About Oracle in Industries
Oracle industry solutions leverage the company’s best-in-class portfolio of products to address complex business processes relevant to utilities, helping speed time to market, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge.

Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Press Contacts:
Susanne Wagner
Director of Communications
678-445-3770
wagner@redclay.com

Candice van der Laan
Oracle
650.506.0814
candice.van.der.laan@oracle.com

Red Clay Consulting is proud to support AIDS Walk Atlanta.  This annual 5K Run is the largest AIDS-related fundraising event in the Southeastern United States.  Now commemorating 23 years of walking and running, AIDS Walk Atlanta & 5K Run continues to raise much needed funds for AIDS Service Organizations throughout the metro-Atlanta area. These organizations provide essential programs and services for men, women, and children who are infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

In 2013, Red Clay’s overall fundraising goal was $15,000.  We raised $18,587 and were one of the top 5 companies!  Because of our hard work and dedication, we helped AIDS WALK Atlanta achieve their overall fundraising goal of $1.1 million.  Most importantly, we helped save lives!  Once again, proving that nobody can do what we can do TOGETHER!!!    Way to go Team Red Clay!

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, “acquired immunodeficiency syndrome” has become one of the world’s most serious health and development challenges. The first cases were reported in 1981 and today, more than 30 years later:

• There are approximately 35 million people currently living with HIV and tens of millions of people have died of AIDS-related causes since the beginning of the epidemic.
• While new cases have been reported in all regions of the world, 95% of new infections occur in individuals that reside in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Most people living with HIV or at risk for HIV do not have access to prevention, care, and treatment, and there is still no cure.
• HIV primarily affects those in their most productive years; about half of new infections are among those under age 25.
• HIV not only affects the health of individuals, it impacts households, communities, and the development and economic growth of nations. Many of the countries hardest hit by HIV also suffer from other infectious diseases, food insecurity, and other serious problems.
• Despite these challenges, new global efforts have been mounted to address the epidemic, particularly in the last decade, and there are signs that the epidemic may be changing course. The number of people newly infected with HIV and the number of AIDS-related deaths have declined, contributing to the stabilization of the epidemic. In addition, the number of people with HIV receiving treatment in resource poor countries has increased from 400,000 in 2003 to 9.7 million in 2012.

To learn more, visit http://www.aidswalkatlanta.com.

Atlanta-based Red Clay Consulting and Oracle announced today that they have completed implementation of Red Clay’s SmartGridONE (SG1) offering powered by Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management at Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC—The Reliable One).   Built upon Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0, Red Clay Consulting’s SG1 is a flexible, affordable and complete meter-to-cash MDM solution that helps utilities lower their total cost of ownership, reduce implementation risk and accelerate their MDM deployment.  Red Clay Consulting’s SG1 supports meter data management needs while providing a foundation for the future. SG1 comes standard with pre-configured and pre-tuned software, hardware and database.

“Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management was the most complete and cost effective solution for our business needs, and with Red Clay’s unique appliance approach and proven track record of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management implementations, it was an ideal pairing,” says Chip Merriam, OUC Vice President, Legislative & Regulatory Compliance.

With Red Clay’s SG1 powered by Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management, OUC went live in less than six months. The meter data management system will enable daily meter reads that increase billing accuracy to help improve customer billing and revenue protection.  With the completion of the Phase 1 of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management, OUC has a solid foundation that is expected to lead to improved business processes.

“OUC can quickly and accurately get 95 to 97 percent of their reads on the first day of the bill window, while at the same time eliminating the manual collection of no-reads,” says Beth Kearns, Managing Partner at Red Clay Consulting.

“Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management provides Orlando Utilities Commission with the flexibility needed to configure and streamline their IT systems, while consolidating vast amounts of data into one system,” said Rodger Smith, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities.  “This successful implementation further exemplifies Oracle Utilities’ commitment to helping utilities achieve their smart grid initiatives, now and in the future.”

Red Clay’s focus within Oracle Utilities solutions is on Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management (MDM), Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway (SGG), Oracle Utilities Mobile Workforce Management (MWM), Oracle Utilities Operational Device Management (ODM), Oracle Utilities Billing Component, and Oracle Utilities Load Profiling and Settlement.

About Red Clay Consulting

Founded in 2001, Atlanta-based Red Clay Consulting is a leading systems integration and consulting firm in the Energy and Utilities Industry.  Red Clay is a Gold level member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) and implements enterprise solutions based on the Oracle Utilities framework.  Red Clay is ambitiously led with integrity by industry experts who are proud to manage a team of dedicated, driven and enthusiastic employees.   Visit www.redclay.com to learn more about our mission of doing what’s right and fair for our clients, our employees and our company.

About OUC–The Reliable One

Established in 1923 by a special act of the Florida Legislature, OUC—The Reliable One is the second largest municipal utility in Florida. OUC provides electric and water services to nearly 228,000 customers in Orlando, St. Cloud and parts of unincorporated Orange and Osceola counties. Visit www.ouc.com to learn more about our commitment to reliability, affordability and sustainability.

About Oracle Utilities

Oracle Utilities delivers proven software applications that help utilities of all types and sizes achieve competitive advantage, business performance excellence and a lower total cost of technology ownership. Oracle Utilities integrates industry-specific customer care and billing, network management, work and asset management, mobile workforce management and meter data management applications with the capabilities of Oracle’s industry-leading enterprise applications, business intelligence tools, middleware and database technologies.  The software enables customers to adapt more nimbly to market deregulation, meet ever-evolving customer demands and deliver on environmental conservation commitments. Additionally, Oracle Utilities helps utilities prepare for smart metering and smart grid initiatives that enhance efficiency and provide critical intelligence metrics that can help drive more-informed energy and water usage decisions for consumers and businesses.  For more information, visit www.oracle.com/goto/utilities.

About Oracle

Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data centre. For more information about Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), visitwww.oracle.com

About Oracle in Industries

Oracle industry solutions leverage the company’s best-in-class portfolio of products to address complex business processes relevant to utilities, helping speed time to market, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge.

Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Press Contacts:
Susanne Wagner
Director of Communications
678-445-3770
wagner@redclay.com

Candice van der Laan
Oracle
650.506.0814
candice.van.der.laan@oracle.com

Atlanta-based Red Clay Consulting announced today that it has completed implementation of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management (MDM), Oracle Smart Grid Gateway (SGG) and Oracle Direct Integration Pack (DIP) for Cobb Electric Membership Corporation (Cobb EMC).   With the implementation of these products, Cobb EMC will enhance all aspects of its customer service, allowing the utility to refine its time-of-use (TOU) rates and improve billing for its 175,000 members by providing reliable electric energy at the lowest possible price.   “We were extremely impressed with the Red Clay team for its dedication and rock-solid implementation methodology.  When the product was delivered it was configured exactly to our specifications and was on-time and on-budget” says Bob Arnett, CIO.

The Validate, Estimate and Edit (VEE) engine that powers Oracle Utilities MDM allows Cobb EMC to mathematically estimate and compare interval data from one hour to the next and allows identification of discrepancies such as negative or excessively high reads.  Cobb EMC will use this information to improve customer billing and assist with revenue protection.   The hourly interval usage will be the driving factor in Cobb’s effort to provide CPP and TOU billing models to their customers via their website.  In addition, MDM will analyze meter-tampering flags, power outages, power quality, and usage to identify potential revenue protection situations, such as meter tampering or unauthorized usage; potentially saving customers money.

As a recipient of Federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Cobb EMC is utilizing Oracle Utilities MDM as its repository for hourly interval usage by way of the Oracle SGG.  As MDM is not the final destination for these hourly intervals, Cobb EMC is using the Oracle DIP to pass billing determinants to their Customer Information System, Oracle’s Customer Care &Billing (CC&B).  The DIP also keeps data in sync between CC&B and MDM.  Meter installations, disconnects, new contacts, service points etc. are all transferred to MDM from CC&B by way of the DIP, relying heavily on the Oracle Fusion Middleware Product.

“Red Clay brought a wealth of product knowledge to our MDM project. We were impressed by their focus on this market and how they have been able to keep up with the vendor changes in this industry. When our AMI/MDM project team scored the critical success factors to decide which implementation partner to choose, Red Clay was the clear winner and delivered solid results” says Tim Jarrell, Associate Vice President of IS Programs.

Red Clay’s strategic focus within the Oracle Utilities framework is on Meter Data Management (MDM) Solutions, Smart Grid Gateway (SGG), Mobile Workforce Management (MWM), Work and Asset Management (WAM) and Service Order Processing.

Red Clay also offers SmartGridONE (SG1) – a new solution designed as a complete meter data management system (MDMS) for smaller utilities and as a foundation MDMS for larger ones. Built upon the Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management (MDM) v2.0 framework, SG1 is a flexible, affordable and complete meter-to-cash MDM solution. SG1 configures the most commonly used MDM functionality to support MDM needs while providing a foundation for the future. SG1 comes loaded with pre-configured and pre-tuned software, hardware and database for utilities that want to lower cost, reduce risk and accelerate their deployment. Because SG1’s MDM configurations have been fully tested and require little to no customization, the timeline to go live is five months (plus one month of additional support); half of what typical MDM implementations involve.

 

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