USmartConsumer, how promote smart metering to people

During the 2016, we installed an accumulated number of 80 million smart meters (of a total of 300 million residential customers) constituting a major breakthrough in innovation for our society. Observing the regulations published in any state, together with the counters’ number installed and services to residential customers, we can see the different EU countries evolving’ speeds.

Smart meters are devices enabling new services, based on data coming from these equipment, generating more information for energy management al national and European level, with great potential to benefit and involve consumers. Using new smart meter information, consulting companies and suppliers offer business intelligence or market segmentation products and informed consumers benefit from a better understanding (of) how to save energy, starting from their own consumption data.

Looking at with this situation the project USmartConsumer (www.usmartconsumer.eu) had developed for three years various smart metering promoting’ actions, simultaneously favouring energy companies and services to consumers’ deployment.

The Final Project Conference was organized during the European Utility Week 2016(EUW’16), November 15^th-16^th in Barcelona, in the Hub Session format, counting 200 attendees on day 1 and 310 total day 1+2.

UsmartConsumer results and conclusions

The European Communications activities’ target audience applies to a wide range stakeholders in partner countries, but also other EU regions and member States trying to foster smart metering’s public acceptance and market development of metering services for consumers, based on smart meter data.

Related to the subjects key people, the USmartConsumer final conference involved most of the project partners as speakers to show the project results and smart metering developments in their countries. Were also invited key speakers from smart metering market.

Marco Cotti, Iberia Network Commercial Operations’ Manager, introduced firstly the Endesa Distribuciòn’ progress, showing the advances in smart metering, smart city and company’s upcoming developments.

Jose Maria Prieta, Technical Measurement Officer at Iberdrola Distribuciòn, presented the STAR project that develops the company and will allow the remote management of its 10.5 million smart meters by 2018, based on the open protocol PRIME. He also explained the improvements in billing allowed by smart metering and the different information offered to consumers on the IBD platform.

Mariano Gaudò, Head of Infrastructure for the Digital Network of Gas Natural Fenosa (Uniòn Fenosa Distribuciòn), presented the progress in the deployment of company’ smart meters, with a total of 3.7 million by 2018. Advantages of Tuluz, a service via web or mobile app that allows consumers to be informed about distribution network’s incidents or their electricity consumption.

Paulo Libano, Innovation Technology Director at EDP Distributiòn, described the InvoGrid project, from the 2010 pilot in the city Evora, to the large-scale deployment of the 2016-2017 period, where they hope to achieve a 20% share of smart metering, finalizing smart meters’ installation in 2023.

The second part of this session was based on the progress made in EU countries representative.

Lauri Penttinen, project manager in the Central Finland Energy Agency, presented the forerunner energy engagement services to consumers based on smart metering, talking about the situation in Finland.

Kate Thomas, Senior Project Manager in the Centre for Sustainable Energy, introduced the pay-as-you-go to make life easier prepayment meter customer in the UK.

Jan Maciejanski, from the Cluster for Renewable Energy Hamburg, presented the Market Survey & Segmentation to Provide Services to Consumers in 8 EU Countries.

Miriam Salguero, electric smart metering expert in the national regulator CNMC, National Markets and Competition Commission, Electric Energy Sub-Direction, explained the regulator’s role in facilitating new services for consumers.

Martin Walther, product and project manager in WEMAG Utility, presented the smart meter roll-out strategies, including the “Meter Operation Act”, in Germany.

Lauri Pentinen, Martin Walther and Miriam Salguero, as experts from North, Central and South Europe, also participated the final panel of conclusions on consumers and innovation in services based on smart metering for this segment of customers.

Marina Varvesi, Smart Meters Project Manager in AISFOR, showed how smart metering services can fit to Italian Consumers, starting from consumers awareness on energy domestic consumption with the USMARTCONSUMER project.

Ramón Cerero, DMS & AMI project leader in Iberdrola Distribuciòn, introduced the Iberdrola’s Latest Prime Alliance Platform for Smart Metering, to give information to consumers by IBD platform.

The final panel included the experts giving their vision of the trends in Italy (Marina Varvesi), Spain (Jose Manuel Corera), Finland (Lauri Pentinen), Denmark (Buggi Buch) and the UK (Kate Thomas).