REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Oracle today announced that ESB Networks, a subsidiary of ESB -- the leading electricity utility in Ireland -- is using Oracle(R) Utilities Network Management System to efficiently manage operations for its medium-voltage distribution networks.

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The Irish industry regulator (CER) requires increasingly higher standards of network performance and customer service, as well as accurate reporting against these standards. ESB Networks has a duty to manage network operations in the safest and most efficient manner possible. To this end, the utility is currently centralizing control of network operations.

'Our customers expect high standards of service delivery and supply quality,' said Frank Giblin, operations management system (OMS) project manager, ESB Networks. 'The recently deployed OMS based on Oracle Utilities Network Management System will help us achieve these critical goals.'

'We selected Oracle Utilities Network Management System because of its rich functionality set for both outage and network/switching management and comprehensive SCADA, CIS, GIS and IVR interface facilities,' Giblin continued. 'It is one of the more mature vendor offerings in the outage and distribution management market with a proven track record. Working in partnership with Oracle Utilities, we completed the project on time.'

ESB Networks is mandated with operating and managing the distribution system, which provides power to a customer base of more than 1.7 million homes and businesses across Ireland. Prior to the recent Oracle implementation and upgrade, only 18 of the ESB's 34 area-office locations could access the operations management system, impeding organization-wide deployment. The organization has now completed its deployment of Oracle Utilities Network Management System to all 34 area offices.

ESB Networks has centralized its network and outage management functions within two distribution control centers (DCC), while providing the flexibility to allow its area offices to manage the network during emergency or storm conditions or planned outages. ESB uses the real-time switching management function within Oracle Utilities Network Management System to manage network operations associated with new construction work in a safe, timely and efficient manner. With Oracle, ESB is able to better manage its distribution network, control costs and improve service quality, while ensuring system stability and reliability.

The system allows ESB to quickly identify and resolve power outages by quickly predicting the location of faults and helping dispatchers and repair crews manage and resolve issues as quickly and efficiently as possible. This efficiency reduces average outage durations, improves customer service and helps ESB Networks meet regulatory requirements.

'In recent years, Ireland's electricity demand has grown exponentially due to the current construction boom and strict regulatory requirements. ESB Networks needed a stable, high-performance technology infrastructure to provide its network operations function with a leading operations management solution,' said Brad Kitchin, vice president, professional services for EMEA, Oracle Utilities Global Business Unit. 'We are very pleased to have helped ESB Networks meet its regulatory requirements and improve its customer-service standards.'

Founded in 1927, the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is a statutory corporation in the Republic of Ireland. It is 95 percent owned by the Government of Ireland, with the remaining shares held by an employee share option trust. ESB Networks is a subsidiary of the ESB Group of companies mandated with the operation and maintenance of its distribution networks.

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SOURCE Oracle

Source: PR Newswire (December 11, 2007 - 8:02 AM EST)

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