USCL

Revolutionizing Utility Metering, Billing, Customer Information

January 2001 California makes worldwide headlines Time Mag California Unplugged

January 2001 USCL begins development of prototype EMS-2020

April 2001 USCL unveils working EMS-2020 prototype at an Open house attended by California State Senator Tom Torlakson

On May 9, 2002, USCL contacted President George W. Bush in the White House and informed him of our activities regarding the EMS-2020 development and the SUM technology developed by SMUD and the DOD

USCL receives letter from the White House regarding its innovative Smart Meter and Customer display products

Senator Torlakson introduces Senate Bill SB-1976; Approved by the California Governor September 24, 2002

Senate Bill 1976 leads to two year SPP pilot project

USCL goes before the California Energy Commission on Oct. 17, 2003 and lays out the need for the In-Home Energy Display and Home Area Network. 

Tom Tamarkin files testimony with the California Public Utilities Commission on the importance of in-home customer energy displays

smart meterCalifornia Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) begins to mandate AMI for the state’s three Investor Owned Utilities Q2 2004; over 12 million old fashion electro-mechanical power meters will be replaced in California by 2012

Southern California Edison (SCE) files negative business case model with CPUC for AMI; Vice President provides negative testimony at CEC and CPUC public hearing November 2004

USCL prepares detailed letter and AMI Team Roadmap PowerPoint for SCE President Robert Foster and personally delivers documents to Mr. Foster’s office January 29 2005

SCE files 480 page five volume positive AMI business case model largely based on USCL’s letter and AMI Roadmap March 30, 2005
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5

SCE receives approval from CPUC to proceed based on USCL’s suggested RFI and RFP for new innovative technology providing a robust set of new consumer oriented features as well as new utility features

SCE issues RFP for 5 million AMI meters and communications systems January 2007; USCL is one of 9 approved bidders (  Adobe PDF document)

USCL prepares its State-of-the-Art DM-06 digital meter or smart meter spec for Southern California Edison (SCE) as part of the “RFI” submission in November 2006 which became the new benchmark for “smart meters” in the United States. ( Adobe PDF document)

USCL’s development of its “Smart meter” for SCE was documented in a PowerPoint presentation used for the SCE RFP internal review.

On July 24, 2008 a patent application by Southern California Edison & Paul DeMartini was published by the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office. The patent examiner objected to all claims in the first office action and cited the USCL patent 7,379,791 as the primary reason for each claim.  SCE did not file affirmative responses to the office action and this patent application went abandoned.

On August 13, 2009, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published a second patent application by Southern California Edison and Paul DeMartini for an in-home display connected to a smart meter.  This applications claims were also objected to by the USPTO’s examiner in the first office action and based on the Tamarkin 7,379,791 disclosures as well as other prior art in the display field and this application was also abandoned by SCE.

USCL’s Tom Tamarkin was named a Smart Grid Industry pioneer on November 6, 2013 by Smart Grid Today, the utility’s leading news publication on meters and the grid. Smart Grid announcement

January 28, 2014 United States Patent Office granted and published Tamarkin, et al, U.S. Patent number 8,639,390