OKLAHOMA CITY – OG&E Electric Services announced today it will begin a research and development project to test wireless, “smart” technology with residents in two areas of northwest Oklahoma City. OG&E's Positive Energy™ SmartPower program would enable customers to better manage their energy consumption and control costs.

OG&E's Positive Energy™ SmartPower program will test a secure, wireless network to provide two-way, real time communication with “smart meters,” installed outside the residence, and programmable thermostats and touch-screen information panels located inside the residence.

“Similar ‘smart grid' technologies are being implemented by several other utilities, but OG&E will be first to test the in-home programmable thermostats and touch-screen information panels in customers' homes,” said Ken Grant, Managing Director of Marketing for OG&E.  “This research period will give us a pulse of how our customers can use the technology to benefit them.”

Approximately 6,600 residents in northwest Oklahoma City will receive “smart” electric meters. Along with the smart meters, OG&E will install touch-screen information panels and programmable thermostats in approximately 30 to 50 homes or apartments.

Using this technology, OG&E can remotely connect and disconnect service and know immediately if a customer has experienced a power outage. Touch-screen information panels and programmable thermostats will empower customers to change their consumption patterns based upon a better understanding of how and when they are consuming electricity.

During the testing phase, OG&E will rely on feedback from those using the in-home Positive Energy™ SmartPower program to determine what technology will be most beneficial to customers and when the company should seek approval from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for implementation.

OG&E is Oklahoma's largest utility, serving more than 765,000 customers in a service area spanning 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.  OG&E is a subsidiary of Oklahoma city-based OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE), which also is the parent company of Enogex LLC, a midstream natural gas pipeline business with principal operations in Oklahoma.

Contact:
Paul Renfrow
(405) 553-3287