San Diego Gas & Electric Wins 2008 UTC Apex Award for Life-Saving Communications System

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2008
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SAN DIEGO GAS & ELECTRIC WINS 2008 UTC APEX AWARD FOR LIFE-SAVING COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

ORLANDO, FL. – The winners of the 2008 UTC Apex Award, sponsored by Motorola, Inc., were honored this morning at UTC TELECOM 2008. This year’s winners were selected by a distinguished and independent panel of judges selected by UTC’s board of directors.

“The role that energy and water companies play in their communities cannot be overstated. Over the past three years, the UTC Apex Award has recognized utilities in their outstanding use of IT and telecom specifically to support their communities. This year, our fourth, is no exception. Our finalists this year have stepped up in a variety of different ways to show how the telecom and IT infrastructure supports the entire critical infrastructure effort,” said UTC Chairman of the Board Jeff Selman.

San Diego Gas & Electric of San Diego California won the UTC Apex Award based on their efforts to restore power to their community after fires burned through 1,800 utility poles and 35 miles of power lines. Supporting these restoration efforts was a robust communications system that had not been previously tested in the field. However, the team was able to get the system up and running to coordinate voice and data to swiftly deploy repair work and ultimately restore power to customers.

There were two runners up for the 2008 UTC Apex Award: City of Princeton in Princeton, Illinois and Procempa in Brazil. City of Princeton in rural Illinois deployed a Broadband over Power Line system that enabled the access to the internet the community needed to maintain economic viability of the community and generate more employment opportunities for the area. Procempa used a Power Line Communications network to support the needs of healthcare and schools outside of the main city to improve and save lives.

“Overall, those recognized by the UTC Apex Award this year highlighted a number of issues important to today’s utility company – both here in the United States and internationally, as seen by Procempa’s success,” said UTC President and CEO William R. Moroney. “These submissions illustrate the importance of communication systems in a wide variety of situations and their support of the utility’s core business.”

“This year’s winners truly showcase the critical role that utility companies play within their communities and the significance of the technology that makes it all possible, said Chris Banakis, vice president of utilities, Motorola Enterprise Mobility business. “With a focus on innovation and excellence, the cornerstones of the Apex Award, these companies deliver vital benefits to the communities they serve.”

The UTC Apex Award, sponsored by Motorola, was created to recognize a utility's public service through use of telecommunications, raise awareness of the important role telecommunications systems play in ensuring the reliability of utility services and highlight creative and innovative approaches that promote quality and service excellence by utility companies.

To see all the incredible stories about excellence and innovation in utility telecom, please visit the UTC Apex Award web site at www.utcapexaward.utc.org.

Utilities Telecom Council
Celebrating its 60th year in 2008, the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) is a global, full-service trade association dedicated to creating a favorable business, regulatory, and technological environment for entities that own, manage, or provide critical telecommunications systems in support of core services. Founded in 1948, UTC has evolved into a dynamic organization that represents the broad communications interests of electric, gas, and water utilities; natural gas pipelines; other critical infrastructure entities and other industry stakeholders. Visit www.utc.org for more information on UTC and its services.

Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation in communications. The company develops technologies, products and services that make mobile experiences possible. Our portfolio includes communications infrastructure, enterprise mobility solutions, digital set-tops, cable modems, mobile devices and Bluetooth accessories. Motorola is committed to delivering next generation communication solutions to people, businesses and governments. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $36.6 billion in 2007. For more information about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit http://www.motorola.com.

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