Also on the radar are two further acquisitions: that of a Chinese EV manufacturer by a Dubai-based tech company, as well as of a grids-focused advisory company by a US-based global consultancy.

SMS acquires heat pump division for flexibility services

The Scottish smart metering company has announced the acquisition of Evergreen Energy’s domestic services division, which specialises in the installation and maintenance of renewable energy assets, including heat pumps, solar and battery storage for homeowners.

According to SMS, the acquisition will enhance their capacity to deliver an extended range of low-carbon, behind-the-meter energy solutions to the UK’s domestic and commercial marketplaces.

The company, which earlier this year pointed to their flagship smart meter services and storage portfolios as key profit areas, is calling the acquisition “highly complementary to SMS’s leading role in the delivery of Great Britain’s smart meter programme, owning and managing c.4.5 million meter and data assets for customers,” they state in a press release.

Heat pumps are a key clean tech asset for enabling demand side response, which is gaining attraction in the UK as a method of alleviating peak demand on the country’s grid system.

The acquisition is thus hoped to deliver associated data solutions and demand flexibility services to energy suppliers, businesses and consumers.

Earlier this year in February, SMS announced a demand side response project, part of the UK Government’s Flexibility Innovation Programme, to design and deliver testing schemes for flexibility applications.

Earlier this week, UK market research company Cornwall Insight released research illustrating the crucial element smart meters represent for flexibility services, which have exponential savings potential, should households participate.

Also from Smart Energy Finances:
How the faltering grid drives investment
IMServ’s strategic smart metering acquisition to tap MHHS

SMS’s acquisition follows other strategic investments made last year in EV charge point software company, Clenergy EV, and of smart energy data platform, n3rgy, which similarly bolstered SMS’s presence in the EV charging infrastructure and data services markets.

Evergreen Energy’s other divisions, including the Homely and Easy MCS brands are not included in the transaction and will operate independently from the Evergreen Energy brand going forward.

Stated SMS CEO Tim Mortlock: “Whilst we will continue to operate the Evergreen Energy brand that has been successfully established within the northwest, the acquisition will bolster the Group’s overall capacity to deliver these carbon reduction assets on a wider national scale to a fast-growing domestic and commercial marketplace.

“The location of Evergreen’s Manchester base close to our national training academy and innovation centre in Bolton, where we are focussed on upskilling our engineering workforce and testing new technologies, will also be highly beneficial.”

A Middle Eastern acquisition of Chinese EV manufacturing

Dubai-headquartered mobility tech company NWTN has reached an agreement to make a strategic investment of $500 million in China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group (EVGRF), a Chinese automobile manufacturer that specialises in developing EVs, aiming to accelerate the company’s position in the EV space.

NWTN and EVGRF entered into a share subscription agreement pursuant to which NWTN will acquire approximately 27.50% of shares of EVGRF alongside the right to nominate a majority of EVGRF’s board.

The proposed transaction is expected to close in Q4 2023, subject to customary and other closing conditions.

NWTN, a mobility and green energy company, has a full vehicle assembly facility in Abu Dhabi. Technologically, the company has expanded its capabilities to include PV generation, green hydrogen production and energy storage.

The strategic acquisition forms part of the company’s continuing expansion, vying in growing markets in the Middle East, North Africa, China and other countries.

NWTN states an emphasis for their business on the use of AI technologies, autonomous driving and personalised passenger experience as key to its market positioning.

The company believes a partnership with EVGRF will be instrumental in addressing the EV needs of the Middle East and will facilitate EVGRF’s research and development and mass production of new car models for eventual export overseas.

According to Reuters, the deal forms part of a $3.2 billion plan unveiled by Evergrande to reduce its debt and stay afloat.

Have you read:
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Avangrid to harness AI for the grid

Consultancy’s acquisition to reinforce grid expertise

US-based ICF, a global consulting and tech services provider, has acquired CMY Solutions, a power and energy engineering firm that advises on decision-making for grid modernisation, programmes and investments.

Founded in 2016, CMY’s team of 50 specialised experts advise senior leaders of utilities and developers across the US, Europe and Asia, including investor-owned utilities, electric municipalities and electric cooperatives.

ICF on the other hand consists of approximately 9,000 employees, consisting of business analysts and policy specialists who work alongside digital strategists, data scientists and creatives in the public and private sectors.

The acquisition brings to ICF strong backgrounds in renewable energy integration, distributed energy resources (DER) impact studies and management.

Additionally, CMY brings “deep technical expertise in substation, transmission and distribution system design, protection and control, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) compliance, as well as system planning and capital strategy consulting,” states ICF in a press release announcing the acquisition.

Commenting on the acquisition was John Wasson, ICF chair and CEO, who stated how the deal will “strengthen our ability to support utilities’ needs for grid transformation, reliability, resilience and renewables integration in a much more holistic way.

“As one team, we will scale our industry-leading energy service offerings and continue to grow our rapidly expanding technology and data management capabilities across the various markets we serve.”

Acquisitions have been key in this week’s Smart Energy Finances with smart metering for flexibility, EV manufacturing and grid modernisation expertise for consulting all seen driving strategic corporate moves.

What are your thoughts? What have you seen as having a large influence on decision-making when it comes to acquisitions in the energy sector and what would you like me to cover?

Let me know.

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International

Follow me on Linkedin

The UK market researcher’s report, The power of flex: Rewarding smarter energy usage, outlines the importance of enabling household flexibility, which has the potential to benefit individual households, the national energy system and the environment.

The report highlights four key findings:

• Smart meter-enabled flexibility can cut peak consumption by 3GW;

• Household flexibility could deliver annual savings for consumers and the energy system of £14.1 billion/year ($17.9 billion/year) in 2040;

• Individuals engaged in flexibility could save 52% in wholesale electricity costs in 2040;

• Carbon savings increase 45% with the engagement of household flexibility.

Smart meters crucial for enabling flexibility

According to Cornwall Insight, the research focussed on the system-facing benefits that can be realised by managing and deploying the flexibility potential in household electricity use.

The flow of relevant data between different parties engaged across the energy system is essential to delivering opportunities, states the company, and smart metering infrastructure is a core component in ensuring this information is available to all relevant parties when they need it.

Using the half-hourly data from smart meters, customers can also be rewarded for reducing their use of electricity at certain times, in a way that would not be possible with a traditional meter. With a traditional meter, suppliers typically do not have visibility of consumption at different times of day, states the research, and therefore could not reward customers for making a change in their consumption pattern.

Have you read:
Flexibility record set in GB
UK energy regulator investigates domestic demand side response

Enabled by the presence of smart meters, household flexibility was found to support substantial reductions in peak consumption, the equivalent of four new gas-fired power stations.

Specifically, states the research, managing flexible demand technologies like EV charging, heat pump operation and solar and storage activities to market prices and system requirements equates to 3GW of peak demand on the network avoided overall in 2030.

This reduction is equivalent to saving almost £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in spending on the electricity network, including wires and other infrastructure which delivers electricity to homes.

Further savings are seen in 2040, with a 1.5GW reduction in peak demand facilitated by household flexibility, saving £1.7 billion ($2.2 billion) in avoided network upgrades and the building of new gas-fired power stations.

£14.1 billion saved by 2040

According to the study’s comparison between two scenarios, one with enabled flexibility and one without, the flexibility scenario sees consumers and the energy system benefit from £14.1 billion in savings in 2040.

This arises from three key areas, states the report:

• Lowered wholesale electricity prices accounting for £12.3 billion ($15.6 billion);
• Lowered peak demand, reducing the need to build additional power stations, delivering savings of around £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion);
• Reduced need to build additional network assets, equating to a saving of around £500 million ($634 million).

These financial savings relate to single-year scenarios modelled for 2025, 2030 and 2040. The scenarios are stand-alone and are not cumulative for the time periods between the scenarios, states the research.

Also of interest:
EU flexibility requirements to increase significantly towards 2050 finds JRC
Energy Transitions Podcast: Enabling flexibility with district self-balancing

Looking nearer term, in 2030 the research finds overall savings of £4.6 billion ($5.8 billion) and by as soon as 2025, the ability to shift some consumption out of expensive peak periods supports wholesale power price savings, with overall power costs £21 million ($26.6 million) lower.

Flexible households could save 52% in wholesale electricity costs in 2040

According to the research, for households with EVs, heat pumps and other smart-capable assets that are managed in line with flexibility incentives, wholesale electricity costs are 52% lower in the Flexibility Scenario, saving £3755 ($4759) in 2040.

These savings take account of the additional electricity demand required to transition to electrified heating and transport and come from these households being rewarded for moving the flexible parts of their electricity consumption into cheaper periods. This means these customers won’t face additional costs from petrol and gas, states Cornwall Insight.

45% increase in carbon savings

According to the report, engagement with household flexibility results in a 45% increase in carbon savings compared to the no flexibility scenario, the equivalent of planting 630,000 trees, states the research.

By engaging with flexibility, households can have a positive environmental impact, shifting consumption from peak times when gas-fired power stations are often used to meet demand, to other times of day when renewable energy is generating more.

Installation is being coordinated under the JV’s smart meter national programme (SMNP), which is delivering smart meters to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, NDMC-Delhi and Telangana.

The aim of the SMNP is to improve the billing and collection efficiencies of distribution companies (DISCOMs) operating in the country.

According to EESL, the smart meters are connected through a web-based monitoring system to help reduce commercial losses.

The smart meters are further hoped to enhance revenues and serve as an important tool in the country’s power sector reform.

Power sector reforms

Earlier this year in June, India‘s Ministry of Power announced ₹664 billion ($8 billion) in incentives for power sector reform across the country’s States.

The incentives will be granted in the form of borrowing permissions, aiming to encourage each state to undertake reforms to enhance the efficiency and performance of the power sector.

The financing will be made available via the 2021 to 2022 union budget.

Additionally, states the Power Ministry, ₹1.4 trillion ($17.4 billion) has been earmarked as an incentive to States for undertaking the reforms in the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year.

Have you read:
5 million IoT enabled smart meters for India
INSTINCT 3.0 to drive competitive smart metering applications in India

To be eligible for the incentives, State governments must undertake a set of mandatory reforms and meet stipulated performance benchmarks.

The required reforms include:

• Reducing losses of public sector power distribution companies (DISCOMs) by the State Government
• Transparency in the reporting of financial affairs of the power sector, including payment of subsidies and recording of liabilities of Governments to DISCOMs and of DISCOMs to others
• Timely audits and rendition of financial and energy accounts
• Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements

Also on the radar is significant growth from Chameleon Technologies, which announced their 10 millionth smart meter IHD as well as Greenbird’s acquisition by energy giant GE Vernova.

Nikola Motors shares on the fall

Nikola Motors, an Arizona-headquartered electric truck maker, has voluntarily recalled 209 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) after reporting a coolant leak as the cause of an EV truck fire at their headquarters earlier this year.

A temporary hold has been placed on Nikola’s BEV sales.

“The safety of customers, dealers and team members are Nikola’s top priority,” stated the company in a press release last Friday as days later the company’s stock plummeted.

According to Bloomberg reportage, the company’s shares fell by up to 20% at the start of the week, a trend signalling another nail to the coffin after the company’s shares were recorded as falling 98% from their peak reached in June 2020.

Internal investigations from Nikola’s safety and engineering teams indicated a single supplier component within the battery pack as the likely source of the coolant leak.

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The utility’s role in wildfire mitigation

“At Nikola we take safety very seriously,” said Steve Girsky, Nikola’s CEO. “We stated from the beginning that as soon as our investigations were concluded we would provide an update, and we will continue our transparency as we learn more.”

The company’s initial statement on the fire in June alluded to foul play as a possible cause, although a review has since suggested foul play or other external factors were unlikely.

Although the Class 8 Tre BEV’s have been recalled, the company has stated that their hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), which are currently in production, will not be affected as they make use of a different battery design.

According to the company’s Q2 2023 report, 18 customers placed orders to Nikola and dealers for over 200 hydrogen FCEVs.

Nikola Corporation designs and manufactures heavy-duty BEVs, FCEVs and energy infrastructure solutions, such as energy storage systems and hydrogen charging station infrastructure, through its brand HYLA, which was launched in January this year to oversee the company’s energy products for producing, distributing and dispensing hydrogen.

The BEV case follows the company naming a fourth CEO after Michael Lohscheller stepped down earlier this month due to family concerns, leading to the company losing more than a quarter of its market value, states Reuters. Lohscheller was replaced by former General Motors executive Stephen Girsky.

Nikola has flagged “substantial doubts” about its ability to continue as a going concern for the next year, reiterating its warning for the third time since February, as it awaits “critical” additional capital.

The news from Nikola also comes as concerns rise over fires caused by EV batteries.

Research released in February this year, Full-scale fire testing of battery electric vehicles, finds that although the characteristics of BEV fires are similar to those of traditional passenger vehicles, jet flames caused by thermal runaway – a result of exponential increases in heat within the battery cell – “accelerates the fire spread to other combustibles of BEVs”.

Thus, states the researchers, thermal runaway and reignition mark major risks to first responders.

Also from Smart Energy Finances:
How the faltering grid drives investment
IMServ’s strategic smart metering acquisition to tap MHHS

GE Vernova acquires Greenbird

Energy major GE Vernova’s digital business has acquired Greenbird Integration Technology AS, a data integration platform company focused on utilities.

The acquisition comes 10 years after Greenbird’s launch; the company’s platform will accelerate GridOS, which the company calls “the world’s first software portfolio designed specifically for grid orchestration, adding new capabilities for connecting systems and integrating data across the grid more easily and at scale”.

The financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

The Greenbird acquisition is hoped to expand the capabilities of GE Vernova’s data fabric, eliminating data silos to make it faster and easier to connect and aggregate energy data, reducing the time and expense of data integration projects.

Responding to Smart Energy International was Frederik ten Sythoff, Greenbird VP of communication and marketing, who commented on the company’s outlook after the successful acquisition:

“As a company, we are proud that we have contributed with our thought leadership to highlight the importance for utilities to move into a data-driven future and with our technology to simplify this transition for them.

“We see the challenges in the industry are getting bigger and bigger. We need a much bigger focus and bigger solutions to make an impact. We’re using data to accelerate the industry and world to sustainable energy.

“GE Vernova has a legacy and proven track record to address these unique challenges we are facing in the energy sector. The acquisition is a strong signal and commitment to utilities, partners, and the industry of the strength of GridOS and the important role it’ll play in accelerating a more sustainable energy grid.”

Read more

Chameleon Tech’s 10 millionth IHD and significant growth

UK-based smart energy technology business Chameleon Technology has announced the manufacturing and delivery of its 10 millionth in-home display (IHD), a record they state for the industry, enabling insights into energy consumption for consumers through “visible, transparent, real-time data” they state in a release.

The IHDs connect to energy providers’ smart meters to help consumers track their energy use and costs. By the end of the UK smart meter rollout, two in every three homes are projected to have a Chameleon Technology IHD, according to the company.

The announcement of the milestone was followed by the opening of new offices for the clean tech company in the UK, after being awarded over £3.6 million ($4.6 million) in government funding for additional projects, including the Green Home Finance Accelerator (GHFA).

The GHFA aims to make available innovation funding for the development of green finance products which can enable the uptake of home energy efficiency, low carbon heating and micro-generation retrofit measures in the UK.

Through their award, Chameleon Technology’s HTC-UP project will aim to help domestic homeowners looking to improve their home’s energy efficiency, with initial support tailored to the needs of landlords.

The funding will be used to assess the viability of a “one-stop-shop for energy efficiency improvements” they state, from initial assessment to financing.

Heat Transfer Co-efficient (HTC) technology will be used to provide homeowners with an accurate measurement of a property’s energy efficiency rather than having to rely on the survey-based method used to produce current EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) ratings.

The HTC algorithm takes smart meter data and internal temperature readings, collected through the ivie Bud in-home display, and combines these with external temperature readings gained from third party weather data.

This combination of data is hoped to create a much more accurate measurement of how much heat is escaping the home, leading to a more precise carbon-efficiency score for the property.

What are your thoughts about the financial insecurities that come with investments in new technologies?

Let me know and make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances for the latest finance and investment news coming out of the energy sector.

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International

Follow me on LinkedIn

CLP Power has been replacing traditional meters since 2018 to enhance the reliability of power supply in the utility’s operating areas. Installation is expected to complete by 2025.

The smart meters will allow CLP Power customers to view their hourly consumption as recently as four hours ago.

CLP Power stated in a release that this will enable new insights into usage patterns to enable consumption and price reductions.

Since 2020, CLP Power has invited residential customers with smart meters to make slight adjustments to their consumption behaviour and reduce their energy use during peak demand periods.

Have you read:
Smart meter data innovations to trial in Britain
PSE&G reaches 1 million smart meter milestone

950,000 households were invited to join an energy saving event this summer, of which around 70% saved a total of 410,000kWh of electricity over a period of four hours.

Commented CLP Power managing director Joseph Law: “Customers can enjoy digitalised services and energy management solutions made possible by smart meters to optimise their consumption habits, resulting in energy savings and better management of electricity expenses, supporting the Hong Kong SAR Government to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

“In recent years, customers with smart meters have used them as an effective tool for energy management and actively participated in energy-saving events that reduce peak electricity demand. We will continue to enhance the customer experience by launching different services to help people adopt a smarter, low-carbon lifestyle.”

CLP Power is a Hong Kong utility subsidiary wholly owned by CLP Holdings Limited. The company operates electricity services for more than six million people in its supply areas.

The platform, Predict+, which has been developed by California based Tigo Energy, uses AI and machine learning technology to automatically forecast electricity generation and consumption for utilities, IPP’s and grid planners.

EDF Renewables Israel will use the platform in an extended partnership with Tigo Energy, which develops intelligent solar and energy storage solutions, to enhance the performance of solar farms in Israel through the predictive tech.

Also of interest:
Data as the foundation of the energy transition
Accurate location data: Futureproofing energy networks in the transition to net zero
Creating data space with smart meter hubs

In the collaboration, Predict+ will be used to:

• Forecast and model energy meter data for enable energy trading decisions, including precise day-ahead and long-term forecasting of EDF Renewables Israel consumers’ consumption
• Manage market insights about demand, renewable supply and utility pricing in the Israeli energy market
• Conduct profit analyses using predicted and actual revenues from end-customers, as well as an API-level integration with billing systems for end-customer consumption data and invoicing
• Produce accurate, consistent, and regulation-compliant reporting data for Israeli grid operator Noga

According to Tigo, the platform provides “high-fidelity visibility into the performance of solar and wind energy systems through precise predictions, market insights, profit analysis and regulation functions,” they stated in a release announcing the upgrade to their existing collaboration.

Predict+ is part of the Tigo Energy Intelligence (EI) platform, a digital platform designed to oversee solar installations’ planning, installation, commissioning, monitoring and maintenance phases, from individual residential systems to commercial, industrial and utility-scale solar fleets.

“With Predict+, EDF Renewables now has the power of reliable and self-adaptable forecasting and a customisable, software-driven model to maximise the value of solar assets,” said Zvi Alon, chairman and CEO at Tigo Energy.

“We look forward to continuing our work with EDF Renewables to optimise the company’s virtual supplier business and bolster its position as a leader in the energy utility space.”

Also on the radar are robust earnings from an Indian company for their shunt resistors, which they claim to be the “backbone of smart metering technology and energy management systems” as well as a raised Series B funding round for Electric Vehicle (EV) services provider ev.energy, which they will use for global expansion and new EV data-driven services.

Acquisition to bolster smart metering expertise

IMServ Europe, a UK-based energy data collection and metering specialist, has acquired Power Data Associates, a specialist meter administrator providing unmetered services to electricity, gas and water utilities and non-domestic energy customers.

IMServ is calling the acquisition an augmentation of their existing proposition in energy data collection, advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) and smart metering.

According to the company, unmetered supplies metering systems will be required to upgrade to half-hourly settlement as part of a forthcoming market-wide half-hourly settlement (MHHS) rules.

IMServ has already identified MHHS as a key strategic priority and aims to ease the transition for every sector of the market.\

The acquisition of Power Data Associates is hoped to enable this goal and allow customers with both metered and unmetered requirements to meet their needs ‘under one roof.’

IMServ will be the only company to offer the full range of MHHS services across the metered and unmetered data services segment.

Power Data Associates will continue to operate as a standalone company, with all current employees and senior leadership retained.

Power Data Associates specialises in providing services to help customers manage their unmetered energy usage. Key unmetered applications include street lighting, telecommunications infrastructure and, increasingly, electric vehicle (EV) charge points.

IMServ on the other hand is one of the UK’s leading meter operators and data collectors, servicing over 25% of the UK’s electricity consumption through the monitoring of 80 billion units of energy data.

Also from Smart Energy Finances:
AMI provider acquires a narrowband communications solution
Funding for autonomous EV charging and GridBeyond’s acquisition of Veritone Energy

Robust earnings from smart meter shunt resistors

Indian manufacturer of bimetal/trimetal strips and shunt resistors Shivalik Bimetal Controls has announced robust financial performance for Q1 FY24.

The company reported operational revenue rise to Rs113.07 Crore ($13.7 million) signalling 15.74% YoY growth. According to CFO Rajeev Ranjan, this is “our highest quarterly number in history.”

The company is calling the financial growth reflective of the Indian and global shift towards electrification.

The Indian government’s RDSS scheme has been opening up significant revenue streams for smart metering projects in the aims of reducing aggregate transmission and commercial (AT&C) losses.

Stated the company’s chairman, S.S. Sandhu, “Our shunt resistors are part of the backbone of smart metering technology and energy management systems, providing the precision and reliability required for efficient energy usage.

“As India accelerates its smart meter deployment to achieve electrical energy security, we are proud to be a key player in providing critical components, contributing to the country’s electrification renaissance.”

Shivalik Bimetal Controls was founded in 1984 and is headquartered out of New Delhi. It manufactures and sells thermostatic bimetal/trimetal strips for switching components used in electrical, electronics, automotive, agricultural, medical, defence and industrial applications.

The rising demand for switchgear, battery management and smart metering systems, they state, conveys solid long-term prospects for their product lines.

Exclusive from the floors of EUSEW:
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For Enedis collective self-consumption is key to energy sharing 

ev.energy enters grid services with successful financing

ev.energy, an EV charging software platform, has received a $33 million Series B raise, bringing total funded capital to $46M.

ev.energy connects EVs to grid networks, intelligently managing charging for more than 120,000 EVs daily by charging vehicles at grid-friendly times and connecting them to the company’s virtual power plant (VPP).

This latest funding round provides a pathway for ev.energy to access an additional 400 million energy customers by utilising their shareholders’ energy retail, fleet, vehicle and insurance networks.

The funding round was led by National Grid Partners (NGP) with support from Aviva Ventures, WEX Venture Capital and InMotion Ventures, with continued support from existing investors Energy Impact Partners (EIP), Future Energy Ventures (FEV) and ArcTern Ventures.

The funding will also enable ev.energy to expand its global operations while building on its growth across the US and UK.

Since 2018, ev.energy has won over 30 national, regional and municipal utility contracts while developing partnerships with charging brands and auto original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like the Volkswagen Group.

In announcing the funding, the company cites their offering of moving, storing and discharging energy for megawatts in flexible capacity as a crucial service in a time when utilities in the US and Europe tackle extreme weather conditions, placing significant strain on the electricity grid system.

Bobby Kandaswamy, Senior Director of Pathfinding & Incubation Investments at National Grid Partners, commented, “ev.energy’s approach to providing a convenient, compelling experience for drivers to charge at home and on the road during grid-friendly times is essential for grid operators.

“Combined with its V2G services, ev.energy positions utilities like National Grid as an accelerant to the clean energy transition.” As part of NGP’s investment, Kandaswamy has joined the ev.energy board of directors.

ev.energy will also use these partnerships to co-create services that leverage vehicle data, deliver smart charging and, in the future, more fully develop bi-directional charging.

WEX Venture Capital’s investment will support the expansion of ev.energy’s solution to bring managed charging to fleet vehicles.

For the latest finance and investment news coming out of the energy industry, make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances Weekly.

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International

Follow me on Linkedin

Colorado-headquartered Redaptive, an energy-as-a-service provider, launched the digital platform, which tracks and analyses building energy use data to provide insights for facility managers, energy professionals and utilities.

The solution, called Redaptive ONE, assesses building performance with the hope of simplifying sustainability reporting and helping to maximise energy savings.

According to Redaptive, the metering and data dashboard provides a window into consumption across building portfolios, which they claim saves on average 50% on reporting costs and time to gather and interpret the data, in addition to saving between 5%-15% on utility spend.

First Redaptive installs meters to measure electricity, water and gas usage enabling visibility into critical energy consumption for facility managers to make informed improvements.

Have you read:
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Smart meter data to drive development of a tariff ‘engine’ in UK

The platform’s release is followed by implementation across 18 locations, managed by WPT Capital Advisors, in five months.

In a press release announcing the solution, Spender Gerberding, a partner at WPT Capital Advisors, commented: “With Redaptive’s metering solution and the Redaptive ONE platform, our team can easily track and monitor consumption data, by building, across our entire portfolio for water, gas and electricity.”

Gerberding added how, through the solutions, inconsistent consumption patterns were quickly detected and alerts automatically sent “that ultimately create safer, healthier buildings by identifying leaks and building systems that are running at off-peak intervals.”

According to research released earlier this year – Building energy performance monitoring through the lens of data quality: A review – on the importance of smart meter data for energy performance, data quality reporting had been found to be fragmented and limited, although its importance is undeniable across sectors.

According to Redaptive, the platform can also enable access to consumption data for ongoing environmental, social and governance (ESG) and GRESB reporting without the leg work of collecting and deciphering utility bills from tenants.

The launch of the platform followed a $250 million fundraise with CPP, Honeywell, CBRE, Linse Capital and others.

Also on the radar are announcements of a ‘resilient’ business model based on smart meter-generated revenue for Smart Metering Systems (SMS), growth financing for a smart meter data analysis provider and a €3 billion ($3.9 billion) scheme for cleantech companies in Germany.

AMI provider Ubiik acquires Mimomax Wireless

Taiwan-based Ubiik, an IoT and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) provider, has acquired New Zealand-based Mimomax Wireless, a provider of communication solutions for narrowband channels.

The acquisition is being touted as an acceleration of Ubiik’s market expansion.

The new combined entity, which has not yet been named, aims to bring new wireless solutions to market, providing communications for utilities and critical infrastructure.

According to the Taiwanese provider, their current business is on track to exceed 1 million AMI device deployments by 2024, citing the “coverage limitations of existing public LTE networks that impede utilities’ AMI deployments” as the prime challenge they seek a solution towards, the company stated in a joint press release announcing the acquisition.

Since 2007, Mimomax Wireless established itself as a manufacturer of radios utilising Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) technology.

Have you read:
Taiwan Power orders AMI system with 450k more smart meters
First 3GPP Release 15 small cell for smart metering

The Kiwi company caters to utilities, stakeholders within the energy sectors and governments among others. Their communications solutions, states Mimomax, optimises data throughput and enables near-real-time visibility of critical assets.

Commenting on the announcement was Tienhaw Peng, founder and CEO of Ubiik, who stated how the acquisition “injects additional momentum into our collective growth. In tandem, we’re poised to boost the performance, security and cost-effectiveness of critical networks.”

Ubiik states how the merger will allow for an array of new solutions for mission and business-critical communications. For example, existing US utility customers who have deployed Mimomax products in the narrowband 700MHz Upper Block A can now leverage their spectrum acquisition by adding Ubiik’s goRAN NB-IoT Band 103 as a retrofit.

This opportunity, adds the AMI provider, offers the ability to connect smart meters and IoT devices for “a fraction of the cost of deploying new pLTE infrastructure”.

SMS’s ‘resilient’ smart metering business model

Glasgow-based smart meter and carbon reduction asset developer Smart Metering Systems (SMS) has, within its H1 2023 trading update and outlook report, reported 13.3% revenue growth.

Specifically, the Scottish clean tech company’s Index-linked Annualised Recurring Revenue (ILARR), a referral to revenue generated from meter rental and data contracts, grew from £97.1 million ($125.4 million) at the close of December 2022 to £110 million ($142 million) as of June 30, 2023.

The company’s CEO, Tim Mortlock, commented on the growth, citing the ‘resilience’ of their model:

“We have delivered another strong operational and financial performance during H1 2023, a testament to the resilient nature of our business model which is underpinned by our index-linked recurring revenues.

“Our existing pipeline of meter and grid-scale battery assets is expected to more than double the Group’s EBITDA in c.4 years compared to FY 2022, with significant additional growth opportunities in existing and developing CaRe assets.”

Within the first half of 2023, the company SMS installed 220,000 smart meters and has maintained market share of 14%.

According to the report, their engineering capacity delivered higher volumes of activity, largely driven by transactional callout services alongside a higher proportion of single fuel installations.

The Group also increased its engineering capacity and expects meter installation run-rate to accelerate as a result.

When it comes to financing, the Group claims its current pipeline of smart meters and grid-scale batteries can be fully funded from asset-backed, internally-generated cash flows and debt facilities.

The Group is also considering asset recycling to maintain a “prudent level of gearing in the medium term and to support future growth”, they state in the release.

Also from Smart Energy Finances:
Funding for autonomous EV charging and GridBeyond’s acquisition of Veritone Energy
Enel divests 50% of Australian renewable operations to Japanese oil and gas giant

Expansion financing for a smart meter data analysis provider

CIBC Innovation Banking has increased its growth financing commitment to Bidgely, a provider of AI-powered energy intelligence solutions for energy providers worldwide.

The additional financing commitment of $18 million – 2020 saw Bidgely secure $8 million from the same company – will strengthen Bidgely’s ability to support critical utility initiatives, namely within the EV and grid modernisation markets.

Bidgely’s UtilityAI analyses smart meter data to provide appliance-level insights into daily energy consumption, giving utilities insights into energy usage patterns and anticipated grid loads.

Bidgely touts its platform’s ability to coordinate accurate grid planning and load forecasting, together with the ability to better manage the influx of EVs on the grid through optimised time of use, load shifting and managed charging.

“Utilities around the world rely on Bidgely’s artificial intelligence-powered energy solution to guide their clients to smart energy decisions,” said Amy Olah, managing director of CIBC Innovation Banking. “Our continued support speaks to Bidgely’s success and our commitment to back innovative software companies across North America throughout their growth journey.”

€3bn for German low-carbon tech – batteries, heat pumps and more

The European Commission has approved a €3 billion ($3.9bn) German scheme under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework to support private investments in low-carbon assets for the country’s transition to net zero.

The scheme, touted as in line with the tenets of the proposed Green Deal Industrial Plan, will take the form of direct grants, tax advantages, subsidised interest rates and guarantees on new loans for companies producing low-carbon technologies.

Said companies will include those with business in battery energy storage, heat pumps, electrolysers, wind turbines, solar panel, CCUS and key components needed to produce such tech or related critical raw materials necessary for their production.

The aid will be meted out by 31 December 2025.

For the latest finance and investment news coming out of the energy sector, make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances Weekly.

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International

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GMR Smart Electricity Distribution Pvt Ltd (GSEDPL), a subsidiary of the GMR Group subsidiary GMR Power and Urban Infra Limited, has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from the Indian Government to install and maintain almost 7.6 million prepaid smart meters.

The LOI will see GSEDPL implement the smart metering project in the Purvanchal (Varanasi, Azamgarh zone and Prayagraj, Mirzapur zone) and Dakshinanchal (Agra and Aligarh zone) areas of Uttar Pradesh for the respective distribution companies Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd.

They will install, integrate and maintain 75.69 lakh (7.569 million) smart meters in the given areas under the LOI over the next 10 years.

The LOI was issued in conclusion to an e-tender for different areas of Uttar Pradesh; GSEDPL participated and emerged as a winner.

An advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project, the LOI extends to supply, installation, integration, commissioning and operation and maintenance of the smart meters.

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The project with a value of Rs75.93 billion (US$928 million) will be executed under the Indian Government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), which has two major components:

1. Financial support for prepaid smart and system metering, as well as upgrading distribution infrastructure
2. Training and capacity building alongside other enabling and supporting activities.

The smart meter rollout is expected to reduce AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial losses) in the designated areas and improve the operational and collection efficiencies of the two Uttar Pradesh discoms.

Additionally, as reported by Mint, the announcement saw the company’s shares spike by 20% and, on the technical front, their stock price rose 17% with the order and outperformed the sector by 16.1% in the past year.

The order is the latest from the country’s government, which has been greenlighting a slew of smart meter orders to enhance the electricity system.

The same week as the issuance of the LOI, Tata Power announced their win of an order for 1.86 million smart meters in eastern central India.

Also in Uttar Pradesh, earlier this year in April, smart metering company IntelliSmart won an order for 6.7 million smart meters, claiming the largest order of its kind the country had seen.

Updated 24 July 2023

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a notice of intent to issue a $4 million funding opportunity announcement. In particular, solutions tapping into the ‘tsunami of data’ offered by advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) to enhance grid reliability will be eligible.

The new funding will fall under the Sensor Data Analytics Demonstrations Funding group.

The FOA (funding opportunity announcement) aims to enhance grid reliability and resilience given the availability of advanced data collection and analysis to develop the grid of the future.

In a press release announcing the FOA, the DOE states how “the tsunami of data from the Advanced Metering Infrastructure, specifically, as well as sensors with fast-streaming data sets, have challenged the traditional methods of utility data acquisition, use and storage.”

The FOA seeks to establish a portfolio of projects that demonstrate the different geographic, economic and climate conditions that help assess the deployment of advanced sensor technologies.

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The DOE encourages demonstrations and direct partnerships with data providers and power sector utilities to help ensure that analytics support planning and operations decisions.

Awarded projects will include both Research and Development (R&D) and Demonstration tasks.

“The electric power industry is witnessing an explosive growth in the volume, variety, and velocity of utility data,” said Gene Rodrigues, Assistant Secretary for Electricity. “We will need the data and analysis to accelerate pathways towards our grid modernization goals.”

This is the latest from the US DOE to encourage the use of AMI within grid planning.

Earlier this year, according to a Wood Mackenzie-published Utility investment in grid modernization report, 25 investor-owned utilities in the US filed for $36.4 billion of investment into grid modernisation; AMI was a major focus for the call.

According to their research report, AMI and distributed hardening represented, at the time of the reports release, 80% of grid investment in the country.

Australia-owned QIC has closed a $1.1 billion green loan for its acquisition of Vector Metering, announced the same day as Intellihub’s acquisition of New Zealand metering solutions provider, Influx Energy Data.

QIC’s $1.1bn green loan for smart metering

Australian state-owned QIC (Queensland Investment Corporation) Infrastructure has closed an AU$1.6 billion (US$1.1 billion) green loan for its acquisition of smart meter business, Vector Metering.

The loan comprises green term loans to fund QIC’s 50% interest in Vector Metering, in addition to green CAPEX facilities to fund the business’ ongoing electricity smart metering expansion across Australia and New Zealand.

The acquisition of Vector Metering, which is touted as the largest smart meter provider of its kind across Australia and New Zealand, was contractually closed earlier this year in April.

The green loan, states QIC, marks the first Use of Proceeds Certification globally under the new Climate Bonds Standard Version 4.0 (CBS v4.0), a labelling scheme for entities, assets, bonds, loans and other sustainability-linked debt instruments in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

QIC claims the green loan as “the largest Climate Bonds Certified green bank loan aligned with the Climate Bonds’ Electrical Grids and Storage eligibility criteria”.

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Smart meters critical for net zero

Ross Israel, head of Global Infrastructure at QIC commented on the green financing, stating the critical role of smart meters in decarbonising Australia and New Zealand.

Specifically, he stated, “Their role is rapidly evolving from data processing for timely billing purposes” to enabling smarter integration of renewables onto the grid and managing the ever-increasing volume and volatility of electricity supply, “due to the broader energy transition and increasing penetration of renewable generation.”

Sean Kidney, CEO of Climate Bonds Initiative, also commented on the financing milestone, which “underscores the importance of transparent and credible certification in mobilising capital for climate-aligned investments and demonstrates a real economy example of transition of energy systems.”

The green loan was issued under Vector Metering’s Green Financing Framework, which was developed in line with the February 2023 update to the Green Loan Principles.

Vector Metering obtained a Verification Report and an assurance opinion from DNV Australia, a Climate Bonds’ Approved Verifier, confirming that the Green Instrument was issued in alignment with the Principles and CBS v4.0.

Video: Smart meter industry ready for Europe – ESMIG’s Daniela Sellmann

MUFG Bank Ltd, National Australia Bank Limited, Westpac Banking Corporation and Westpac New Zealand acted as joint sustainability coordinators on the transaction.

According to QIC, certification under CBS v4.0 demonstrates Vector Metering’s significant commitment to the increasing use of electricity smart metering.

QIC further states how the green loan attracted significant interest from a ‘lending syndicate’ of 11 major domestic and international lenders.

JP Morgan acted as financial advisor on the transaction, with Herbert Smith Freehills and Russell McVeagh acting as borrower’s counsel and Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Bell Gully acting as lenders’ counsel.

Intellihub acquires smart electricity metering solution

On the same day as the announcement of the green financing, Australian and New Zealand smart metering and energy data services business Intellihub announced the acquisition of New Zealand metering solutions provider, Influx Energy Data, from electricity distribution business The Lines Company (TLC).

The Influx metering and data solutions business manages more than 125,000 smart and legacy Installation Control Points on behalf of all major electricity retailers in New Zealand.

The solutions provide cloud-based services that can dynamically control home water heating and energy data, helping customers save on energy costs and = support electricity retailers and distribution networks.

Intellihub CEO Wes Ballantine commented on the acquisition: “We look forward to introducing (Influx’s) customers to our broader metering footprint and innovative investment path. This is another acquisition that supports our goal of enabling intelligent energy use across the region.”

With the addition of Influx, Intellihub now manages more than 2 million smart devices across Australia and New Zealand on behalf of electricity retailers.

The announcement follows Intellihub’s acquisition of energy tech company GreenSync, which has developed a cloud-based DER interoperability software known as DeX – or decentralised energy exchange.

DeX is a digital platform that enables DER registration, near real-time visibility and the control and data management required for Virtual Power Plant (VPP) participation.

Mr Ballantine said the business was now installing 2,000 of its next-gen smart meter in homes and businesses each day across Australia and New Zealand.

“Our next-gen meter includes real-time, high-speed measurements with communications platforms that provide visibility, control, and better management of consumer energy resources,” he said. “This includes the increasing number of solar and battery energy storage systems, EV charging, water heating and pool pumps.

“We have stated our intention to invest further in New Zealand and this acquisition is a material step along that path. We look forward to continuing those investment plans into the future.”

Genus Power & Infrastructures and Gem View Investment, an affiliate of wealth fund GIC, signed an agreement to set up a platform for Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider (AMISP) concessions.

GIC will hold the majority 74% stake in the platform with Genus holding the remaining 26%.

Genus will be the exclusive supplier to the platform for smart meters and associated services.

The agreement also includes a INR5.2 crore ($63.1 million) investment from GIC’s Chiswick Investment for 15% in the Indian smart metering company.

According to GIC in a press release announcing the JV, the agreement represents the largest transaction in India’s smart metering space.

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Speaking on the development Jitendra Kumar Agarwal, joint managing director of Genus, in an interview with BQ Prime stated that the platform was created to fund the coming smart meter projects over the next three to five years.

“GIC comes as a financial partner and Genus comes as a technical and system integrator partner.”

When it comes to projects seeking funding, Agarwal states “the platform will have an exclusive arrangement with Genus Power as a system integrator (for AMISPs)…for manufacturing of meters, technical solutions and installation (etc.).”

The platform also is the prime bidder of the contracts to the state electricity boards.

The Government of India is implementing its National Smart Metering Project under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), with plans to install the 250 million meters by 2025 at an estimated investment of $30 billion.

With technical and commercial losses exceeding 15% for all major Indian utilities leading to high financial losses, smart metering projects under the RDSS scheme are hoped to reduce such losses, improve operational efficiency of DISCOMs and improve their financial sustainability.

AMISP concessions are awarded by the various state utilities under the RDSS with a concession life of up to 10 years. Concessionaires receive a monthly service charge during this period for installing and maintaining meters and the associated infrastructure.

With the JV, Genus will supplement its manufacturing and execution capability with access to new capital. Genus has also stated it will scale up smart meter deployment in the country in its bid to support energy security and transition through grid optimisation.

According to the Economic Times, Genus Power Shares hit the 20% upper circuit after the platform agreement.

The transactions are subject to the approval of Genus shareholders and fulfilment of customary closing conditions to the satisfaction of the GIC affiliates.

The meter data management (MDM) platform comes courtesy of energy solutions developer Hansen Technologies in a five-year contract with the Swiss energy and infrastructure company.

The MDM, which is provided as a ground-to-cloud solution, will be deployed via a Software as a Service (SaaS) model across BKW’s meter network in the multi-year agreement.

The announcement from the partners comes in as BKW implements a rollout of smart meters across its customer base of 400,000, with expected completion set for 2028.

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The smart meter rollout, states BKW, is in response to the federal government’s legal requirement for “the conversion to digital metrology”.

BKW and Hansen have already commenced planning for the MDM deployment, with a go-live targeted for the first half of 2024.

According to Hansen, their MDM is applicable across the utility value chain, from smart device roll-out management to energy logistics, energy business, billing and customer services. The MDM rollout also follows a project extension for Hansen alongside Swissgrid, Switzerland‘s transmission system operator.

The European market’s move towards shorter meter-read periods requires utility companies to implement agile solutions that can scale with an exponential rise in data volumes while managing costs effectively.

The investment will be made in 2024 and will be used to connect new customers, including Renewable Energy Sources (RES), to the grid and will modernise and reconstruct the power grid.

Specifically, it will translate into the modernisation of 1,220km of power lines, the expansion of 345 transformer stations and the installation of smart meters.

In the last eight years, Tauron has invested PLN16 billion ($4 billion) in distribution networks.

Completed projects, state Tauron, which consists of almost 60,000 investment tasks per year, allow for the development of grids at all voltage levels.

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Commenting on the increased funds was Paweł Szczeszek, the Tauron Group’s president, who called distribution the Group’s “most important investment direction”, adding how the increased funds represent their response to the growing needs “of connecting new customers and new energy sources to the grid.

“Without the reconstruction of the grid, regardless of how much energy we produce from RES, the power system will not function effectively. The success of the energy transformation is therefore conditioned by the development and modernisation of distribution networks in the direction of the so-called smart grids.”

Added Szczeszek: “Thanks to the actions of the government in the era of the energy crisis, Poles have stable access to energy at socially acceptable prices. The Polish government has frozen energy prices at the level of those in 2022 and introduced a maximum price.

“These actions stabilised the situation and saved us from the drama of energy poverty. If not for these actions, the bills of a [an average] Polish family would be higher by an average of PLN5,000 ($1,2368) a year.”

Currently, Tauron customers have over a million modern remote reading meters; by 2030, the replacement of meters is hoped to cover the entire area of ​​the company’s operation.

The new meters come courtesy of a recently announced partnership between the energy monitoring tech developer Sense and EDMI, a smart metering solutions provider and the largest meter supplier in Australia.

The partnership sees Sense’s real time home intelligence software running on EDMI meters, which will bring intelligence to the grid edge.

According to the collaborators in a press release announcing their partnership, these will be the first smart meters in the Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions capable of sampling data at one million times a second (1MHz).

The new resolution is hoped to enable more efficient identification and localisation of grid faults, enhanced device detection and expanded margins for utilities.

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Networks, they add, will benefit from real time grid edge insight (e.g. power quality) and the ability to identify and locate problems on the grid such as vegetation brush and corrosion.

Additionally, they state, retailers will be able to offer new services and energy insights to their customers, access domestic flexibility at scale, coordinate power management across the home and improve their power purchasing with detailed forecasting.

Commenting on the announcement was Michael Jary, Sense’s APAC & EMEA managing director, who stated that the tech will be able to enable load reductions and how, in Australia, “implementing Sense on smart meters would be the equivalent of adding 2.4GW to peak capacity – that’s as much as three coal power stations.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with EDMI, one of the leading smart meter manufacturers in the world, to bring this technology to more homes.”

NAO, the UK’s independent public spending watchdog, has found that the government’s smart meter rollout is proceeding slower than planned and that the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will have new challenges in meeting its latest set of targets.

The watchdog’s report, Update on the rollout of smart meters, released today, finds that, although government and industry has overcome some of the most pressing challenges facing the smart metering programme, there are several challenges in achieving current targets.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, commented on the rollout, stating how, although government has made recent progress, “the rollout is now at a crucial point – and the department should ensure it has robust information on both the total costs and benefits of smart meters to make decisions from an informed position to maximise value for money.

“DESNZ must now work with suppliers to get the programme on track, for the benefit of millions of consumers and small businesses and government’s wider environmental goals.”

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Skill shortage & supplier disagreements

According to NAO, one such major challenge to the UK smart meter rollout has been a shortage of installation engineers and disagreements with suppliers.

Said suppliers, states the report, argue that they have exhausted the ‘low hanging fruit’ of customers who want devices and therefore call for new policies to support the rollout, such as mandating that any new homes built have a smart meter installed by default.

According to the report, only one out of 13 large suppliers achieved both its 2022 electricity and gas smart meter installation targets.

In total, these 13 suppliers installed 3.7 million meters against their combined target of nearly five million.

A 2019 analysis from DESNZ forecasts the total cost of the rollout at £13.5 billion. It is likely, however, states NAO, that the cost per smart meter will now be more as average installation costs are higher than expected, because of, for example, a shortage of engineers.

Such costs are initially borne by suppliers and fed through to households via energy bills. Both costs and benefits have been delayed by the slower-than-planned rollout.

On three occasions government delayed the deadline for the completion of the rollout, first to the end of 2020, then 2024 and then 2025. DESNZ believes that these targets will galvanise supplier activity, even if it means targets need adjusting over time.

In February 2023, the government launched a consultation on plans to have smart meters installed in 80% of homes and 73% of small businesses by the end of 2025.

Smart meter technical issues

57% – more than 32 million – of all meters in Great Britain are now smart. However, according to the report, another major issue with the rollout has been smart meters not working as intended.

Of installed smart meters, DESNZ’s data shows that around three million (9%) as of the end of March 2023 are not operating in smart mode and are indistinguishable from a traditional meter.

This is because, for example, the meters are still waiting to be commissioned (such as in new build premises) or due to communication issues.

According to the NAO, stakeholders are concerned that target frameworks incentivise suppliers to prioritise installing new smart meters, rather than fixing issues with previously installed smart meters.

As of 5 May 2023, states the watchdog, around four million first-generation smart meters had not yet been migrated onto the central platform service by suppliers to ensure they maintain smart capability even if consumers switch suppliers, despite the government’s requirement that this was completed by the end of 2022.

In their report, to ensure the smart meter rollout programme maximises value for money, the NAO recommends government updates data on programme costs and benefits.

DESNZ and suppliers also need to work together, they state, to overcome disagreements and address the reasons that installation rates are slower than planned.

The installation was announced by Copel manager Sérgio Milani, who stated that the completion of the 500.000 meters is part of a wider rollout and estimated that more than 1.6 million smart meters will be available to Copel customers in the coming years.

The rollout is part of the utility’s smart grid project, announced in 2020 to deploy smart meters and other technologies to modernise and automate its networks.

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“This is the image of the state of Paraná, with the position of all the radios already installed for the SmartGrid project (Intelligent Electric Network),” stated Milani in a social media post.

“We already have approximately 10,000 radios that make up the backbone network and the AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) network, the challenge is to reach all of our customers’ meters with communication.

“We already have half a million consumers with meters installed in phases 01 and 02 of the project, in the coming years it is estimated that this communication will be available to more than 1.6 million consumers.”

Copel’s smart grid project aims to install the necessary infrastructure for connectivity across applications. This includes the implementation of network reconfiguration systems, which are self-healing, and the automation of reclosers or voltage regulators.

Copel (Companhia Paranaense de Energia) is one of the largest electricity companies in Brazil, serving over 5 million customers across Paraná state.

Also on the radar are announcements from Siemens Gamesa of a wind divestment and Siemens Limited, which is expanding its global portfolio via an Indian acquisition.

$49.5 million into Indian smart meter manufacturer

Smart meter maker Genus Power Infrastructures has received $49.5 million from the US International Development Finance Corporation, according to Times of India reportage.

The funding will be used to scale up their capacity to manufacture new smart meters, the company’s managing director Jitendra Kumar Agarwal told the Press Trust of India.

“Genus has partnered with the US International Development of Finance Corporation for an initial commitment of $49.5 million loan to scale up the deployment of electric smart meters across India, supporting energy security and transition through grid optimisation and efficiency.”

The announcement comes as the country has been making several moves to advance the digitalisation of its infrastructure, namely through smart metering initiatives and policy.

The government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in particular has seen several announcements of smart metering rollout, one such being IntelliSmart’s contract for 6.7  million smart meters, which they state to be the largest order to date the country has seen.

Said Agarwal:

“With this partnership…Genus is well poised to become a leading player in the AMISP (Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider) market. Smart metering projects under the RDSS will not only reduce technical and commercial losses exceeding 15% for all major Indian utilities leading to high financial losses, but also improve operations efficiency of DISCOMs and improve their financial health by providing results linked financial assistance.

Genus Power Infrastructures, which has operations in smart metering, smart city and smart grid technologies, forms part of the Kailash Group.

SSEN sustainability RCF

British utility SSEN Transmission has signed its first ever sustainability-linked Revolving Credit Facility (RCF), valued at £750 million ($926.4 million), which includes four key performance indicators:

• Reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions;
• Suppliers setting science-based emission reduction targets;
• CAPEX spend on connecting renewables; and
• Biodiversity net gain delivery commitments across major terrestrial projects.

The north of Scotland’s electricity transmission network, states the electric utility, has a major role to play in supporting the delivery of Scotland and the UK’s 2030 climate change targets.

SSEN Transmission has ambitious plans to invest more than £10 billion ($12.3 billion) in its network in the decade to 2030, to enable the delivery of more renewable energy to the UK grid. 

In 2019, SSEN Transmission was the UK’s first electricity networks company to have its GHG emissions target externally validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), in line with a 1.5°C global warming pathway.

Siemens Gamesa divests Windar

Grupo Daniel Alonso, owner of 68% of Spain-based wind tower manufacturer Windar Renovables, and Siemens Gamesa, which owns the remaining 32%, have reached an agreement to sell Windar to Bridgepoint, a British private investment company.

Details on the purchase price and structure have not been released.

“The sale of Siemens Gamesa’s stake in Windar is a natural decision for us, as part of our strategy to focus on our core business: wind turbine design, manufacturing including blades, installation and maintenance,” said Jochen Eickholt, Siemens Gamesa’s CEO.

Orlando Alonso will continue as President and CEO of Windar and will retain an indirect minority stake in the company.

The closing of the transaction is expected to take place before year end. Final transaction closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Earlier this year Siemens Energy, according to Wall Street Journal reportage, Siemens Energy, which owns a 97.79% stock in Siemens Gamesa, opened its first green bond of €1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to re-finance Siemens Gamesa debt.

Siemens Gamesa ended a challenging fiscal year 2022 with what they called “record backlog”. The company had to cut 2,900 jobs in a pitch to boost profitability, which included a Mistral strategy programme to restructure their operating model, a strategy which came into effect in January this year. 

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Siemens taps Indian EV market

Siemens has confirmed the acquisition of Mass-Tech Controls’ EV division, aiming to expand the German giants’ range of e-mobility solutions in the country and expand its global portfolio.

Siemens Limited signed an agreement to acquire the division, which is engaged in design, engineering and manufacturing of a wide range of AC chargers, and 30 to 300kW capacity DC chargers for various end applications for EVs.

The cost of the acquisition is approximately €4.3 million ($4.6 million) on a cash free and debt free basis and subject to other adjustments agreed to between the parties.

While Siemens has been active globally in the e-mobility infrastructure space for more than a decade, this addition is hoped to complete Siemens India’s portfolio of e-mobility solutions and address the needs of the Indian market, which they state has unique requirements such as lower power rating and parallel charging.

“The fast-evolving e-mobility infrastructure market in India is important for Siemens due to its high growth potential. The enhanced portfolio will enable Siemens to meet market requirements such as homologation and local value-add with cost-competitive solutions. With this acquisition, we now have a strong platform to address our customers’ needs with locally designed and produced products,” said Markus Mildner, CEO of eMobility at Siemens Smart Infrastructure.

Closing of the acquisition is subject to fulfilment of condition precedents as agreed between the parties and receipt of requisite regulatory, statutory and other approvals.

Post the acquisition, the EV division of Mass-Tech Controls will be fully integrated into the e-Mobility Business Unit of the Smart Infrastructure Business, Siemens Limited.

Encouraged by the FAME-II policy of the Government of India and electric vehicle policies notified by various state governments, the electric vehicle market in India is in the midst of a transformation.

For the latest in finance and investment announcements coming out of the energy industry, make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances, our weekly column.

I will also be attending European Sustainable Energy Week – will I see you there?

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer, Smart Energy International

Follow me on LinkedIn

The contract is an extension of a previous agreement signed between Eltel and the Swedish electric company in February 2020. Vattenfall Eldistribution AB has now decided to utilise the option to order the remaining phases of smart electricity meter installations.

The first order saw Eltel install 236,000 smart meters in a contract worth €22 million ($23.6 million). The scope of the project included planning, installation and logistics of new and old meters, as well as related infrastructure.

Throughout the entire project, Eltel will be installing a total of approximately 900,000 smart electricity meters and technology for about 40,000 secondary substations metering in Vattenfall’s distribution network across Sweden.

According to Smart meters in Sweden – Lesson learned and new regulations, Sweden was one of the first countries in Europe to roll out smart meters. The first regulation regarding smart meters was adopted in 2003, which required monthly metering for small consumers and hourly metering for larger consumers by 2009.

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Neighbouring smart meter installations

Eltel’s announcement follows those coming from the likes of Norway and Finland.

Finland too was one of the first countries to introduce smart metering on a large scale. The latest in smart meter announcements came back in October 2022, when Vaasa Sähköverkko Oy (Vaasa Electricity Network) contracted Landis+Gyr for a 10-year rollout project.

More recently, the Norwegian Energy Regulatory Authority (NVE-RME) announced that almost 99% of metering points in Norway’s low voltage distribution grid have a smart meter.

Planning for Norway’s smart meters began in the early 2000s and their deployment by the grid companies – of which there are over 140 – became a legal requirement in 2019. Three and a half years later, almost all of more than 2.3 million households now have a smart meter.

CEO Logan Moodley revealed their latest innovation in prepaid and smart meters, noting they relied on “solutions that have been tried and testedon the African continent” as he launched their single phase smart meter, iDM APEX 1 and a three phase variant, the iDM APEX 3.

He also introduced another first for the company – a digital assistant aimed directly at customers. Looking to the future, Conlog asked what happens next when the traditional customer user interface becomes a thing of the past. CoDi, a digital platform for customers to buy prepaid tokens for water, electricity and gas and interact with the company’s experts for support via WhatsApp, is a downloadable app.

“We have to consider the future and the future speaks to how do we create exceptional convenience for our customers,” said Moodley.

The smart meter company started working on the new smart meter product four years ago, drawing on African specifications through a collaboration with partners such as the Association of Power Utilities of Africa (APUA) and the African Electrotechnical Standardisation Commission (AFSEC) “that supported design and specification challenges and meeting requirements.”

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Smart meter features range of forward looking functions

The new meters offer the next level in interoperability, are highly scalable and come with integrated cellular WAN connectivity to NB-IoT/5G/4G/3G/2G which make them adaptable to a range of countries with varying technical specifications on the grids.

Smart functionality include both prepaid and post paid modes, with meters able to be currency or unit based.  Since the meters are able to handle time of use or step tariffs, they would be useful in wheeling situations.

The ability to handle demand management principles such as intelligent load limiting, intelligent loadshedding and emergency or scheduled demand response open up a range of options.

The meters also provide next level revenue protection measures with advanced tamper detection capabilities.

Speaking at the launch Abel Tella, APUA secretary general said the association was pleased by the launch of this particular meter “because of APUA’s support of local production in Africa.”

“We are very proud of your achievement,” he told Moodley as he presented the company with a plaque commemorating their accomplishments.

Originally published on ESI-Africa.

The two have agreed to develop an integrated solution to develop insights into energy use and costs in near real time.

GridX, which works alongside utilities and energy suppliers, offers up an enterprise rate platform; Sense uses machine learning technology to provide real-time insights on device behaviour; both are being backed in the partnership by Energy Impact Partners, a strategic investment firm.

“The evolution of smart meters into a grid edge application platform enables real-time device level intelligence. This is instrumental in understanding how consumers are using energy and Sense is…providing this intelligence through embedded software in the latest generation of smart meters,” stated GridX CEO Chris Black in a press release issued Thursday.

“Increasingly, the problem isn’t how much energy we all use, it’s when we use it. The price of energy changes radically throughout the day, so understanding where you are using energy is no longer enough…you must understand how much it costs when you use it.”

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A joint press release issued by the two companies points to Guidehouse research that forecasts the global penetration of smart meters to grow to 56% by the end of 2028.

However, the partners states how utilities have struggled to make sense of and capitalise on the data these meters have provided.

With next-gen meters being deployed, they add how using grid edge intelligence to identify where and when energy is consumed in the home, and applying real-time pricing signals, it’s possible to unlock and reveal the best clean energy choices for consumers. This would help stabilise the grid, save customers money and reduce carbon footprint.

Smart Energy Finances:
Guidehouse’s smart electricity meter market snapshot

Mike Phillips, CEO of Sense added how, “by adding a scalable solution for dynamic pricing information, we can now encourage even greater consumer action – including the adoption of automated controls of key loads, helping us achieve our decarbonisation goals and ensuring everyone is enrolled in the optimal rate.

“This partnership with GridX brings together the…combination of solutions that will change the way utilities optimise the grid and help people better use energy in their homes.”

This is according to a new research report from IoT analyst firm Berg Insight – Smart metering in Latin America – which reveals that the penetration of smart electricity meters in Latin America – a region including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama – reached 6.2% in 2022.

According to the report, the installed base will grow at 21.7% CAGR from 2022 to 2028 to reach a total of 38.4 million, up by 26.7 million over the course of 6 years.

Brazil is the market leader

Over the course of Berg Insight’s forecast period, smart meter penetration in Brazil – the region’s largest market for tech – will increase from 5.7% last year to 21.5% in 2028. Brazil and Mexico will account for close to 80% of total smart meter shipments.

“The number of meter installations in Latin America will continue to grow in the coming years and will be driven by the expansion of ongoing smart metering projects and new major projects. Besides the major markets Brazil and Mexico, countries like Colombia and Peru will grow their share of annual shipment volumes from around 4% in 2022 to over 16% by 2028,” states Mattias Carlsson, IoT analyst at Berg Insight.

Carlsson adds how examples such as Colombia and Peru demonstrate the immense potential for a Latin smart meter market; the former will see annual shipments decuple, and the latter will increase sixteenfold.

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According to the research, annual shipment volumes in Colombia will grow at an impressive 48.5%, while the market in neighbouring Peru is more nascent; smart meter shipment volumes are anticipated to increase after 2024, when the country is set to propose technical standards and cost-benefit methodology for future Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) deployments. The installed base of smart meters in Peru is forecasted to grow from around 50,000 in 2022 to 650,000 by 2028.

According to the study, annual shipments across the region will grow from 1.9 million units in 2022 to over 6.1 million in 2028. This, they state, makes Latin America one of the fastest growing smart metering markets worldwide.

Smart metering in Latin America

The annual demand for electricity meters in Latin America, states the research report, ranges from 16 to 27 million units, out of which Brazil and Mexico together account for over 70%.

In Brazil specifically, several utilities such as Cemig, Copel and Enel have been increasing investments in AMI infrastructure, particularly Enel which has announced an aim of 100% smart meter coverage across all its subsidiaries worldwide by 2030.

Utilities in the country are increasingly investing in the technology and the country is forecast to account for close to 60% of the shipped smart electricity meters in Latin America during the forecast period.

Berg Insight adds how, except for Costa Rica and Uruguay, Latin America has not yet seen a wave of massive smart metering projects. However, a number of utilities in the region are scaling up their smart metering initiatives and in some cases also prepare for large-scale rollouts in the near future.

Overall, high energy losses due to the prevalence of energy theft throughout Latin America will continue to be a major driver for smart metering investments, states the report. The use cases in Latin America to date include remote meter reading, fault detection, distribution automation and measuring power quality.

Additionally, the report finds that Chinese meter vendors in recent years have achieved increasing success in the Latin American market. A key contributing factor is their ability to offer competitive pricing, a crucial aspect for price-sensitive utilities operating in the region.

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By country

According to the report, the smart electricity meter rollout in Costa Rica progresses steadily and the country reached a milestone last year when smart meter penetration rate surpassed 50%; the country’s largest DSO, Group ICE, has also stated an aim of 100% smart meter coverage by 2035.

In Uruguay, nationwide rollout by the state-owned utility UTE is largely completed and the country is expected to become the first Latin American country to reach full smart metering coverage in 2024.

Smart electricity meters in Mexico is forecasted to increase from 8% in 2022 to over 18% in 2028.

Argentina’s high inflation and “bleak economic outlook”, Berg Insight adds, make any large-scale smart meter deployment unlikely in the near future, unless the economic situation significantly improves.

Smart metering deployments in Chile peaked in 2018–2019 but have since decreased mainly due to regulatory ambiguity. However, the report states there is yet potential for a more positive market development should the regulatory environment improve.

Panama was the smallest market covered in the report and was found to have the lowest smart meter penetration rate. The country’s installed base is forecast to reach 113,000 by 2028, although there is potential for significantly higher growth if the government improves the regulatory framework and creates incentives for smart meter deployments.

“As Latin America is poised for significant growth in the coming years, the race has begun between the top meter vendors to gain market share in the region. To date, Chinese smart meter vendors have achieved significant success in Latin America,” added Carlsson.

“One key contributing factor is their ability to offer competitive pricing, a crucial aspect for the price-sensitive utilities operating in the region.”

Vujasinović, the CEO of VF – a consulting company working on the smart metering project – laid out how the project has been progressing in a presentation at Enlit Africa today in Cape Town, South Africa.

According to Vujasinović, the project was designed as a step toward full digitalisation of the country’s electricity distribution system. Two main goals guiding the project have been reducing electricity losses on the network and enabling more efficient connections for the country’s consumers.

“In Serbia we have (so far) installed about 100,000 meters, using GPS communication and the G3 PLC module,” he said.

The current smart meter project aims to install 230,000 smart meters with installations planned to start early in 2024.

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NB IoT was chosen, he added, due to the increasing need for near-real time meter data, which necessitated a switch to a communication system with the necessary “scalability, security and lifetime/system availability of at least 15 years”.

The project received funding support in August last year of €7.8 million ($8 million) from the EU through the Western Balkans Investment Framework, in addition to a €32.2 million ($35.1 million) loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

According to Vujasinović, and illustrated in his diagram to the right, new components for the project – which will be purchased through a tender – include Meter Data Management (MDM), Automatic Meter Management (AMM) and AMM legacy for part one, telecommunication services for part two and new smart meters (SM1, SM2 and SMn) for part 3.

The smart metering project’s solution further proposes procurement of all components for a centralised AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) system in the country, while considering software and smart meters that have already been installed.

Key components for such a system would be an information system, smart meters, communication technology and balance metering, with the latter “very important for detecting and reducing losses”.

Additionally, the project aims to bring down costs associated with metering, for example by having one central control centre, rather than five in each distribution area.

This, states Vujasinović, “is the first step to future proof the digital system.”

Another benefit of the smart metering will be to enhance knowledge across their operating areas, especially when it comes to “knowing about team installers, where they are and what they’re measuring. They will not leave measuring points before notification from their team about installation completion.”

The smart metering project is aimed to support rollout by distribution company Elektrodistribucija Srbije of approximately 205,000 smart meters in the cities of Kraljevo, Čačak and Niš along with the associated advanced metering infrastructure.

The project is also hoped to reduce commercial and technical losses and help improve efficiency of electricity supply in the country, which is not a member of the EU, although its membership is under negotiation.

Other benefits anticipated include increased bill collection rates, savings on meter readings and better fraud detection.

Vujasinović also confirmed expectations of an announcement from the European Investment Bank (EIB) of a project to install 400,000 smart meters in the country.

The province of Saskatchewan is expected to use the money to implement new smart meter technologies and support upgrades to electricity infrastructure through the Distribution Rural Rebuild and Improvement Program. Funding will also contribute to refurbishing the E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station.

The Smart Meter Deployment Project is intended to support electrical grid modernisation and improve grid reliability and resilience by deploying smart meter technologies to residential homes across the province. Smart meter deployment would provide ratepayers with greater access to energy consumption data to help modify behaviors and reduce overall energy consumption. Meters would provide SaskPower with real-time electricity consumption and power outage updates, thereby eliminating much of the need for physical travel and the associated greenhouse gases.

The Distribution Rural Rebuild and Improvement Program is designed to see aging rural electrical distribution infrastructure rebuilt by moving lines out of farm fields and into public right of ways, as well as by replacing infrastructure that is in poor condition. Energy and demand savings would be achieved by reducing line losses.

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The E.B. Campbell Unit 1 to 6 Life Extension is intended to improve the reliability and resilience of Saskatchewan’s electric grid by extending the life and increasing the efficiency of the E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric Station. Life extension and infrastructure improvements would allow for an increase in consistent renewable energy generation to be supplied into the system, thereby offsetting and reducing other carbon-emitting generation.

The Future Electricity Fund is comprised of proceeds collected from electricity-generating facilities covered by the federal Output-Based Pricing System. These proceeds are being returned through funding agreements with provincial or territorial governments where the federal carbon pollution pricing system for industry currently applies, or applied in the past, to support clean electricity initiatives.

The Output-Based Pricing System is a regulatory trading system for industry under Canada’s carbon pollution pricing system. The system sets performance standards for a wide range of industrial products. Each industrial facility receives an emissions limit calculated and based on relevant standards and its level of production. Facilities that emit above their limit must pay the price. Those below their limit get credits they can sell or save to use later. This arrangement is intended to create a financial incentive for the least-efficient facilities to reduce their emissions per unit of output, and for strong performers to continue to improve.

The Government of Canada committed to return proceeds collected from the Output-Based Pricing System to jurisdictions of origin.

Originally published on Power-Grid International.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA’s) alert service, which aims to detect and mitigate water leakages, defects and increased loads, was initially launched three years ago, its results collated from up until the end of December 2022.

The smart meter service sends, states DEWA, ‘instant’ notifications to customers if its smart meter system detects an unusual increase in consumption.

This is hoped to enable quick repairs on internal connections, or any leaks in the water connections with the help of a specialised technician, and perform the necessary maintenance work to reduce waste.

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To date, through the service, DEWA has detected 1,327,583 leakages in water connections after the meter, 26,657 defects and 13,172 cases of increased load.

In announcing the detections through a government-issued press release, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the utility’s CEO and managing director, highlighted that DEWA encourages customers to enhance the efficiency of electricity and water through the smart grid and smart meters, which use the latest disruptive technologies.

This helps customers, added Al Tayer, to monitor, manage and control consumption in a proactive and digital manner anytime and anywhere without contacting their utility.

The alert service was launched three years ago as an innovation under Green Dubai.

DEWA provides the service as part of the Smart Response initiative to enable customers to detect leakages through their bills or smart water meters.

Through the utility, 2.1 million smart electricity and water meters have been installed in Dubai.

The order is being touted as the latest in the company’s robust pipeline of pending smart meter orders in the country, a strategy they are pushing as India continues to roll out state-led schemes for smart metering, such as the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

HPL’s strategic focus on the smart meter sector, they stated in a press release yesterday, is yielding positive results, with a noticeable upsurge in demand. HPL currently has an order book worth over INR1250 crores ($152.6 million).

“We are delighted with our ongoing success, driven by the strong demand for smart meters and our commitment to technological excellence,” said Gautam Seth, joint managing director of HPL.

The order is being touted by the company as in line with a modernisation and process automation vision, which involves the company upgrading its infrastructure to integrate advanced tech and automating key processes.

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This guiding objective, they state, has resulted in higher productivity levels and a reduction in manual dependency.

“The implementation of government schemes has significantly helped the industry, and we are witnessing tangible results. Our robust pipeline of pending orders, combined with our R&D and process automation initiatives, positions us strongly for sustained growth and continued market leadershi,” added Seth.

Details on the order, such as sectors, ordering parties, smart meter types and amounts ordered have not yet been released. HPL and Electric coordinates metering solutions across domestic, commercial and industrial applications.

This marks the latest in Indian smart metering. Two weeks ago, Indian smart metering company IntelliSmart Infrastructure won an order of 6.7 million smart meters, marking the largest order to date in the country.

In that same week, companies Airtel and Secure Meters announced the deployment of 1.3 million NB-IoT enabled smart meters in the country, which marked the first of such tech being deployed with a 2G and 4G fall-back option to ensure continuous supply.

The announcement marks a major milestone in the utility’s 100-year water plan, Water Forward, reaching the halfway mark in its My ATX Water Smart Water Meter Program.

Over half of Austin Water customers’ water meters have been replaced as part of their effort to upgrade and modernise critical infrastructure, while encouraging and supporting customer efforts to conserve water and save money on their bills.

More than 125,000 new My ATX Water digital meters have been installed; and by 2025 all customers served by Austin Water are expected to have a new My ATX Water meter.

“This milestone is cause for celebration!” said Randi Jenkins, assistant director of customer experience at Austin Water. “The My ATX Water digital infrastructure and the associated portal will help individuals save water by identifying leaks in their homes, helping them budget water use and providing tips on saving water and money.”

To celebrate the milestone, the utility is hosting a free community celebration this Saturday, May 6 at Dove Springs District Park.

“We will have family-friendly activities, free pancakes, and ice cream from local vendors while supplies last. Dowser Dan, Austin’s very own water saver, will be there, and we can help to get people signed up on the customer portal,” added Jenkins. “We want to meet members of the community and share all the great benefits this new system will provide.”

Smart water metering – My ATX Water

My ATX Water, Austin Water’s smart water meter system, aims to modernise the utility’s water metering system by replacing more than 250,000 analogue water meters with digitally read water meters connected to a wireless network.

A customer portal will provide daily water use data and custom notifications. The project is considered an important strategy within the utility’s 100-year water plan, known as Water Forward.

According to Austin Water, since 2016, the utility’s staff have evaluated Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and conducted small-scale pilot projects to choose the best meter and data analytics solution.

On March 26, 2020, the Austin City Council approved contracts for full implementation of the new metering system and customer portal.

The My ATX Water portal is hoped to give Austin Water customers near real-time data to better track and manage their water use.

With the smart water meters, consumers can set water use thresholds to push notifications to their email or phone and will receive alerts about continuous water usage that could indicate a leak.

Italian gas DSO Italgas has announced positive Q1 results, dated 31 March 2023, stating their recent acquisition of a Greek gas distribution company and a digital push as driving their growth.

The company announced 18.9% growth in their EBITDA, up to €297.2 million ($326.8 million).

The growth is attributed to the company’s investments over the first three months of 2023, including €175.1 million ($192.6 million) for the extension, digital transformation and repurposing of their networks. Specifically, 213km of new pipelines were laid in the first quarter of 2023.

Late last year Italgas completed the acquisition of Greek gas DSO Depa Infrastructure S.A., pushing them further into a leading role in the Greek gas distribution market and signalling their return to the international market.

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The company, during a shareholders meeting last month, acknowledged the acquisition of Depa and their digital transformation as key indicators of their growth strategy.

Benedetta Navarra, Italgas chairwoman, commented in a press release, “Digitisation, technological innovation, circular economy, training, diversity and inclusion continue to be the cornerstones of our actions at the disposal of communities and territories”.

Paolo Gallo, the company’s CEO, added: “Alongside decarbonisation targets it is crucial to ensure security of supply and industry competitiveness. An approach that we are also promoting in Greece, since the last months of last year marked the Group’s return abroad with the acquisition of Depa Infrastructure, the country’s main gas distribution player.”

According to the company’s Q1 financial results, all economic indicators showed double-digit growth, with Group Net Profit exceeding €100 million ($110 million), up 16.5% compared to the first quarter of last year, thanks also to the contribution of their activities in Greece.

Market snapshot: Smart electric meters to reach $6.9 billion by 2028

According to research released by ResearchAndMarkets, the global smart electric meter market is forecast to grow at a rate of 1.6% CAGR between now and 2028 to reach $6.9 billion, up from 2022’s $6.2 billion.

Key drivers, according to the research, include:

• Increasing adoption of energy efficient technologies and rising investments for replacement of traditional systems with IoT-based metering tech
• Increasing subsidies and incentives provided by governments globally to boost the integration of grid infrastructure with smart electric systems
• Increasing advancements in microgrid networks and expansion of distributed generation technology
• Rising consumption of power across residential establishments such as multi-storey buildings and apartments coupled with the expansion of the commercial sector; these accompany rising utilisation of energy efficient services and products

SP Energy Networks launches 11-month 273MW flexibility tender

SP Energy Networks has launched its spring Flexibility Tender in a search for providers to supply flexibility services across 571 locations identified within its distribution network licence areas.

The UK distribution and transmission network operator, is seeking to procure 273MW of flexibility for an 18-month period from November 2023 to October 2025.

Flexibility providers can apply via the Piclo Flex Platform; pre-qualification period is open and will run until Friday 14 July 2023. The bidding competition will then open on Monday 17 July and close on Friday 21 July 2023.

This new tender will allow for additional flexibility across areas where it has been identified that demand for electricity will increase due to low carbon tech adoption, including electric vehicles and heat pumps, which can often lead to network constraints during busy periods.

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Neoenergia sells 50% equity across eight transmission assets

In a deal valuing BRL1.2 billion ($240 million), Iberdrola’s subsidiary has entered an agreement with GIC, a global institutional investor, to sell 50% equity across eight power transmission assets in operation.

These include Jalapão, Santa Luzia, Dourados, Atibaia, Biguaçu, Sobral, Narandiba and Rio Formoso, which consist of 1,865km of transmission lines.

The purchase price is subject to customary price adjustments. A transmission holding company will be formed to hold the operational assets.

GIC will also have a right of first offer in connection with the potential future sale of 50% of equity interest in the power transmission assets under construction by Neoenergia – Itabapoana, Guanabara, Vale do Itajaí, Lagoa dos Patos, Morro do Chapéu, Estreito, Alto do Parnaíba and Paraíso – which cover 6,089km of lines. The same rights shall also apply to Potiguar Sul, totalling 6,279km of lines.

The eight operational assets have Annual Permitted Revenues (RAP) of approximately BRL430 million ($86 million) and an average concession term of 25 years.

Following closing of the transaction, Neoenergia will continue to provide operation and maintenance services, as well as other corporate services to the operational assets.

ABB divests

Tech developer ABB has completed divestment of its UK technical engineering consultancy business, part of its Energy Industries division, to TÜV Rheinland, following a strategic portfolio review.

The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

According to ABB, the business complements TÜV Rheinland’s existing risk, safety and integrity management services and has been integrated into the Industrial Services and Cybersecurity business of TÜV Rheinland in the UK.

ABB’s UK technical engineering consultancy, including a network of subcontractors and associates, has around 160 people operating from two main sites in northeast and northwest England.

A specialist team of technical experts helps global energy customers improve process safety, equipment and asset integrity as well as technical design for new and existing industrial plants.

The combined business is expected to create a scalable, broad-based technical engineering provider delivering a full-service offer to the high hazard industries, supporting customers in the energy transition and with energy security.

The initial announcement of the acquisition came from TÜV Rheinland earlier this year in January, the same month ABB completed divestment of its power conversion unit to AcBel Polytech.

For the latest in finance and investments announcements coming out of the energy industry, make sure to follow Smart Energy Finances, our weekly column.

Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer, Smart Energy International

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According to the research study, new technology being added to the grid, namely Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), opens ground for hackers, who can attempt to control smart meter switches to cause load oscillations.

Load oscillations

According to the researchers, like circuit breakers in a household panel, power grid components can “trip” and shut off when demand, or load, is too high or problematic.

The result is load being passed on to other parts of the grid network, which may also shut down, creating the possibility of a domino effect that can lead to a blackout.

In their study, Load Oscillating Attacks of Smart Grids: Vulnerability Analysis, conducted with OSU College of Engineering associate professor Jinsub Kim, researchers used a model known as a time-domain grid protection simulator to demonstrate how causing load to vary back and forth in a regular pattern – known as a load oscillation attack – can compromise transmission.

The project was led by associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science Eduardo Cotilla-Sanchez alongside graduate student Falah Alanazi.

Said Cotilla-Sanchez: “New technologies have been introduced to make our ageing electricity infrastructure more efficient and more reliable.

“At the distribution level, upgrades have included communication systems, distribution automation, local control and protection systems, and advanced metering infrastructure. The bad news is, the upgrades also introduce new dimensions for attacking the power grid.”

AMI and smart meters are such new technologies being added into the grid equation and provide space for hackers to attempt to take control over smart meters and use them to cause load oscillations.

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Smart meter hacking

According to the study, with increased smart meter deployment at the distribution level, the frequency of such cybersecurity breaches are likely to increase.

One of these possible attacks consists in hacking the AMI to control the smart meter switches by altering the data or inserting false control data.

The research draws on recent cyber-physical attacks on power grids to demonstrate the cyber threat posed by smart meters:

“Examples include the attack on the Ukrainian power grid in 2015…smart meters could be hacked if the adversary gains access to the smart meter ID, password, and knowledge of the communication protocol and software programming,” states the research paper.

“Smart meters could be hacked as easily as mimicking communication devices to learn how to communicate with the smart meter. Malware could be spread to other smart meters through compromised smart meters to allow easier access.”

They add how hackers could make use of smart meter system weaknesses to ‘spoof’ a controlling signal and secure access.

“In addition, the adversary could determine appropriate line measurement by direct intrusion or estimating information through accessing associated sensor devices or communication links.”

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Threat level

Cotilla-Sanchez, in announcing publication of their study, commented on how, should a large number of smart meters be remotely controlled to switch off power, this could have big ramifications.

Such an incident would start with someone performing reconnaissance by ‘poking’ a couple of locations in a grid and using the information gained to estimate the grid’s destabilizing oscillation frequency, he said. After determining which customer meters to turn on and off at that frequency – less than 1 Hertz or cycle per second – the attacker would be ready to launch an assault.

And comparatively speaking, the researchers state, an attack doesn’t need to involve that many meters.

“We juxtaposed our work with related recent grid studies and found that a well-crafted attack can cause grid instability while involving less than 2% of the system’s load,” added Cotilla-Sanchez.

The findings, while unsettling, provide a jump-off point for grid operators to develop countermeasures, he added.

“For example, if they detect this type of oscillation on the load side, they could take lines A and B out of service, intentionally islanding the affected area and thus avoiding propagation of the instability to a broader area of the grid.

“Another solution, which could be complementary, might be to change the generation portfolio enough – for example, curtail some wind generation while ramping up some hydro generation – so the overall dynamic response is different to what the attack was designed toward, so the impact will be smaller and won’t be enough to tip the system.”

Either technique, he said, will require additional research and development to serve as an effective mechanism of protection, “but understanding the nature of possible attacks I would say is a good start.”