Enel subsidiary Gridspertise has closed twelve agreements for the supply of 650,000 smart meters and 150,000 field devices, accessories and other services related to digitalisations in Italy, Malta and San Marino.

The distribution system operators (DSOs) benefiting from these smart grid technologies are thus able to take a step towards accelerating the electric future of their customers, who should gradually benefit from a power infrastructure that can accommodate larger numbers of individual prosumers or energy communities.

There will also be increased connection capability for rooftop, solar or decentralised renewables, while electric mobility, demand response and other local flexibility options will be accelerated.

The twelve European DSOs benefitting from Gridspertise’s services and tools are: Enemalta in Malta; Hera Group in Italy; four utility companies in central Italy serving the municipalities of Terni (TDE), Tolentino (ASSM), South Severino Marche (Assem) and Offida (Energie Offida); five utility companies in northern Italy serving the municipalities of Brunico (Azienda Pubbliservizi Brunico), Paluzza (Secab), Forni di Sopra (SCI Forni), Chiavenna (SIEC) and Morbegno (SEM); and Azienda Autonoma di Stato per i Servizi Pubblici in San Marino.

“These customers have trusted us as a strategic partner to accelerate the transformation of their networks with metering and grid edge digitalisation that integrate the most advanced technologies available today and enable the active participation of different stakeholders in the electricity market,” said Gridspertise CEO Robert Denda. “We are fully committed to fulfilling their mission, with the first deliveries already slated to start this year. We are grateful to our customers and proud of these early results, kicking off 2022 at full speed.”

Thanks to these agreements, Gridspertise says it can guarantee the supply of more than 650,000 of the latest smart meters until 2029. These devices are not simply designed to measure electricity supply and consumption data, they also act as evolved sensors that provide information regarding the operation and status of the network, thereby increasing the quality, reliability and resiliency of the grid.

At the same time, they enable more services to consumers, regulators and operators in the electricity market. This promotes awareness and control of energy consumption, setting the stage for demand response services and the introduction of customised tariffs.

Moreover, the agreements provide for 150,000 accessories that include concentrators, field operation devices, antennas and other equipment. This is in addition to integrated software that will support the complete digitalisation of the electricity supply and the consumption data received.