Energy company Trilliant is helping Manx Utilities rollout smart electricity meters for 8000 prepayment users across the Isle of Man.

North Carolina-based Trilliant provides advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), smart grid, smart cities and IIoT. It has launched similar island deployments in Aruba, Malaysia and the Dominican Republic.

Manx Utilities is a statutory board of the Isle of Man government and is the island’s only multi-utility with the sole responsibility of providing Isle of Man residents with safe, reliable, efficient and economic supplies of electricity, natural gas and clean water, as well as processing waste water. It additionally operates an energy trading enterprise.

This partnership enables smart capabilities for the island by replacing existing electricity meters with an AMI platform, which will provide connectivity for nearly 50,000 residential, industrial and commercial users with expansion options to enable additional smart grid technologies in the future such as smart street lighting.

In 2021, Manx Utilities deployed Trilliant’s technology which aims to improve coverage, capacity, network longevity, security and overall performance across the Island’s 572km².

The infrastructure upgrades have begun with 8000 prepayment users, whose legacy key electricity meters are being replaced with smart meters. The meters operate on a pay-as-you-go system that users can access using Manx Utilities’ SmarterLiving app. In the app, prepayment users can see updates on their energy usage and top up their credit. It allows them to gain visibility and understanding of their electricity consumption, which could help them save on energy costs.

Early indications from the rollout suggest users are embracing the benefits the smart meter and app offer them. With the rollout to prepayment users reaching its halfway point, around 80% of top-ups are being made via the app.

The smart meters will notify Manx Utilities about power outages and energy use patterns. The electricity provider should be able to reduce waste by fine-tuning energy production based on insights from the smart electricity system.

Following the priority rollout of smart meters to Manx Utilities’ prepayment users, upgrades will start for the remaining domestic, commercial and industrial locations.

“Partnering with Trilliant allows us to deliver a secure communications platform that supports the delivery of a clean energy system fit for the future,” said Philip King, CEO of Manx Utilities. “Upgrading our metering infrastructure ensures our customers have the power to manage their electricity use, enables quicker responses for network faults while also delivering on the Isle of Man government’s Climate Change Plan for net zero by 2050.”

Tom Tipple, Emea managing director for Trilliant, added: “Manx Utilities is a wonderful partner that demonstrates how utilities can deliver forward-thinking smart solutions with benefits for businesses and residents. The Smart Island concept we jointly developed will focus on the efficiency of utilising one powerful communication network to support a number of energy-efficient initiatives while minimising cost.”

Trilliant has a device-agnostic communications platform that enables utilities and cities to deploy any application securely and reliably on one network. Its purpose-built portfolio is designed to offer the power of choice, without risk of users being locked in with one technology provider or meter manufacturer.

• Trilliant has been selected by ESB Networks as one of the suppliers to provide smart meters in support of the rollout of Ireland’s national smart metering programme.