Pioneering Smarter Metering in Gas — The Gas Natural AMM Project Case Study

MILAN, Italy and FRAMINGHAM, Mass., October 23, 2009 – IDC Energy Insights recently released a new study that provides an in-depth look at Gas Natural's implementation of its Advanced Meter Management (AMM) pilot project, which covers 10,000 meters installed in the Spanish territory. The report identifies objectives, major drivers behind the company's decision to undertake this project, a description of the implemented solution, the business value, and major lessons learned.

"Smart metering deployment has the potential to be one of the most significant changes in the energy world, not only for utilities, but also for consumers," said Roberta Bigliani, research director for IDC Energy Insights EMEA. "Not surprisingly, the majority of attention is dedicated to electricity. However, interest is also increasing for applying automated meter management (AMM) solutions to the gas and water sectors. However, not many gas pilots are observable across Europe (and worldwide) and Gas Natural is definitively a pioneer in this field."

The Gas Natural Group is a Spanish energy services multinational focusing on the supply, distribution, and commercialization of natural gas in Spain, Latin America, Italy, and France, where it has more than 11 million customers. In 2005, Gas Natural began a long process of evaluating, testing, piloting, and selectively deploying an AMM system for gas.

After defining its specific requirements, Gas Natural carried out two distinct demonstrations with a total scope of 10,000 meters. Each demonstration was defined to test AMM under different conditions: town typology, density of clients, gas network configuration, and communication technologies. Through the demonstration phase, Gas Natural was able to build a business case for future deployments. However, the company's current near-future plans are not for a full rollout for all residential customers, but for a deployment of 300,000 meters in locations where reading costs exceed €4/year.

In this study, IDC Energy Insights highlights all the most relevant steps of this implementation, as well as a ROI analysis on it. The project represents a very relevant and helpful reference for other gas companies. While the pilot's business transformation impact can be considered medium, it has a more significant transformational impact on the industry.

This IDC Energy Insights study, Best Practices: Pioneering Smarter Metering in Gas — The Gas Natural AMM Project Case Study (Doc #EIOS06R9, Sep 2009), by Roberta Bigliani and Gaia Gallotti, is available for purchase at www.idc-ei.com.

Roberta Bigliani will cover these and other topics in the energy supply industry at the European Commission's Sectoral e-Business Watch Conference 2009 – "ICT and e-Business for an Innovative and Sustainable Economy", 29 October 2009, at the Hotel Bloom, rue Royale 250, 1210 Brussels, Belgium. Participation to this event is free and registration can be done online at http://www.ebusiness-watch.org./events/subscribe/subscribe.htm

For media enquiries and for information on how to obtain a copy of this report, please contact Cinzia Rinelli, marketing manager for IDC's European Vertical Markets and IDC Insights EMEA, at +39 02 28457 367 and crinelli@idc.com

About IDC Energy Insights
IDC Energy Insights, part of IDC, is a leading global provider of research-based advisory and consulting services to the energy and utilities industry. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry-specific business and technology experience, IDC Energy Insights provides full coverage of the energy industry value chain – from upstream to retail activities. IDC Energy Insights provides a portfolio of offerings that are relevant to both IT and business needs. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company.

Contact
For more information, contact:Cinzia Rinelli
crinelli@idc.com+39 02 28457 367

Source: http://idc.com/getdoc.jsp?pid=23571113&containerId=prIT22053109

Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs et le Gachon Energy Research Institute de Corée collaborent sur les réseaux de distribution d’électricité de nouvelle générat

Paris, le 13 octobre 2009 - Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris et NYSE : ALU) annonce que les Bell Labs, l’unité de recherche du Groupe, et le Gachon Energy Research Institute (GERI) de l’Université de Kyungwon, en Corée, ont conclu un accord de recherche conjointe pour développer une infrastructure de communication stratégique, des systèmes de sécurité complets et des modèles économiques innovants destinés aux réseaux d’électricité intelligents (Smart Grid) de nouvelle génération.

Ce programme de recherche commun baptisé Grid 2.0 a pour objectif d’améliorer de façon radicale l’efficacité, la fiabilité, la sécurité et l’intelligence des réseaux d’électricité en exploitant la convergence entre les systèmes de distribution d’électricité et les technologies d’information et de communication.
Ce programme définira les technologies de communication de base qui seront utilisées dans les mécanismes de gestion et de contrôle intelligents des systèmes Smart Grid. Il permettra également de développer des méthodes garantissant la sécurité et la fiabilité des flux d’information entre les éléments de Smart Grid, et de créer une plate-forme de modélisation mathématique et statistique pour l’étude et l’analyse de l’écosystème économique de ces Smart Grids.

Le projet Grid 2.0 tire parti des recherches des Bell Labs en technologies de réseau et en sécurité, de l’expertise du GERI en conception d’applications et de systèmes de distribution d’électricité, ainsi que des méthodes et outils issus de recherches en mathématiques et en économie computationnelle.
« Les Bell Labs d'alcatel-Lucent sont réputés dans le monde entier pour leur savoir-faire et la supériorité de leurs recherches dans les domaines des technologies de communication, de la sécurité, des mathématiques et des études opérationnelles – autant d’éléments nécessaires pour avoir un effet significatif sur le développement de la Smart Grid », a déclaré Randy Giles des Bell Labs. « Notre accord avec le GERI confirme notre engagement en matière d’innovation ouverte et resserre nos liens avec la communauté de recherche coréenne. »

« Nous participons à ce projet de collaboration parce que nous savons que les aptitudes complémentaires des Bell Labs et du GERI sont à même de développer la Smart Grid visée, et ce qui suivra », a expliqué le professeurJunhee Hong, président du GERI. « Nous pensons que les résultats de ce projet auront un champ d’application très étendu et que cette collaboration favorisera le développement et l’adoption de Smart Grids innovantes. »

Ce programme de recherche renforce les activités d’Alcatel-Lucent concernant le développement et la fourniture d’une infrastructure de réseau de communication pour les marchés de l’énergie et des services publics. Alcatel-Lucent a déjà permis à un certain nombre de distributeurs d’électricité à travers le monde - notamment en Australie, en Nouvelle-Zélande, en France et aux États-Unis - de déployer des technologies de communication avancées pour accroître leur performance et leur efficacité opérationnelles.

Référence Smartgrid Transpower choisit Alcatel-Lucent pour transformer le système de communication du réseau électrique néo-zélandais

A propos d’Alcatel-Lucent Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris et NYSE: ALU) est le partenaire privilégié des fournisseurs de services, des entreprises et des administrations du monde entier, leur offrant des services voix, données et vidéo pour leurs propres utilisateurs et clients. Leader dans les réseaux haut débit fixes, mobiles et convergés, les technologies IP, les applications et les services, Alcatel-Lucent s'appuie sur l'expertise technique et scientifique unique des Bell Labs, une des plus grandes organisations de recherche de l'industrie des communications. Avec une présence dans 130 pays, et l'équipe de service la plus expérimentée de l'industrie, Alcatel-Lucent est un partenaire local avec une dimension internationale. Alcatel-Lucent qui a réalisé des revenus de 16,98 milliards d'euros en 2008, est une société de droit français, avec son siège social à Paris. Pour plus d’informations, visitez le site d’Alcatel-Lucent à l’adresse http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

Contacts Presse Alcatel-Lucent

Peter Benedict,
Tel: + +33 1 4076 5084 , Peter.benedict@alcatel-lucent.com

Laurent Dunoyer de Segonzac,
Tel: + 33 (0)1 40 76 15 04 , laurent.dunoyer_de_segonzac@alcatel-lucent.com

Source: Presse alcatel-lucent , http://www.euroinvestor.fr/news/story.aspx?id=10668775

Alcatel-Lucent Expands Smart Meter Trials

The French networking company is in smart meter trials in Germany and Austria, and is linking meters through partners including Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Germany.

Alcatel-Lucent is taking a page from the playbook of networking competitor Cisco Systems and getting into smart grid projects.

The French company's latest smart meter trial is in Austria, where Alcatel-Lucent will help utility KELAG Netz manage smart meters in a 550-home pilot project, it announced this week.

Alcatel-Lucent is also working with Vodafone Germany and smart meter provider DIEHL Energy Solutions to offer a smart metering "package" to German utility Stadtwerke Pasewalk, extending a partnership with Diehl that began in February.

And last month is announced it was working with Deutsche Telekom on a 700-home trial in the German city of Friedrichshafen that includes smart electricity and gas meters.

Alcatel's "end-to-end" smart meter system includes networking and central meter data management, but it relies on its telecommunications partners to transport the data. Cellular networks are a common means of linking smart meter networks to utility control centers in Europe, while North America has seen more utilities choose to build their own wireless networks (see RF Mesh, ZigBee Top North American Utilities' Wish Lists).

Still, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Qualcomm and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile are making moves in the U.S. smart grid market. That's likely to see competing telecoms lowering the prices they're asking utilities to pay to rent their networks for linking smart meters and other smart grid devices (see stories here, here, here, here and here).

The rollout of so-called fourth-generation (4G) networks in Europe and North America could give telecommunications companies more to offer utilities. In the United States, Sprint and Clearwire are hoping to host smart grid services on the WiMax networks they're building around the country (see Sprint Stakes Smart Grid Claim and Green Light post).

As for Alcatel's 4G plans, it has been gathering partners including Hewlett Packard, Nokia, Samsung, and the North American marketing arm of Kyocera and Sanyo in its NG Connect program, which is aimed at providing services for the Long Term Evolution (LTE) network being deployed in Europe.

Another NG Connect partner is Intamac Systems, a United Kingdom-based company developing in-home energy control systems that are being deployed through telecom and utility partnerships.

Verizon and BT (formerly British Telecom) are among the telecommunications companies working on linking home energy management devices through home hubs, providing another route beyond smart meters to link utilities to customers (see The Telco Home Energy Invasion).

Europe isn't the only market Alcatel is aiming at. It's involved in a PPL Electric Utilities proposal that's seeking $19 million in Department of Energy stimulus funds to build a distribution automation system in Harrisburg, Penn. (see Smart Grid Stimulus Applications Accelerate as Deadline Approaches).

Of course, Alcatel will likely see plenty of competition from Cisco on the smart grid front. The networking giant is making a big push into helping utilities build the networks they'll need to support a wide range of smart grid projects (see IBM, Cisco Look to Tie Up Smart Grid Partners).

While most of Cisco's utility partners are in the United States, it is working with Germany utility Yellostrom and is likely to expand its partner list in the coming months (see Cisco Gets Into German Homes With Yellostrom).

Source:
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/alcatel-lucent-expands-smart-meter-trials/

[White Paper] Smart Metering for Electric and Gas Utilities by Oracle Corporation

Utilities are seeking ways to keep electricity affordable despite rising demand that creates upward price pressures. Some jurisdictions have meter regulations that make it impractical to use a single meter for both gas and electricity. Removing those restrictions can increase the use of smart metering for gas and electric utilities. Oracle's staff of utility experts can provide extensive advice and guidance on smart metering pilots and projects.

Download the White Paper

Source: http://tweetmyrss.tradepub.com/free/w_orac93/

STMicroelectronics : sélectionné par Enel

STMicroelectronics, l'un des premiers fabricants mondiaux de circuits intégrés et premier fournisseur mondial de solutions de gestion d'énergie, annonce qu'il a été sélectionné par Enel, la plus grande compagnie d'électricité italienne, pour fournir les composants électroniques qui équiperont les nouveaux compteurs électroniques prochainement déployée par Endesa, le plus grand fournisseur d'électricité en Espagne.

Les compteurs électromécaniques traditionnels reposent sur une technologie plus que centenaire qui n'est plus adaptée à de nouveaux développements significatifs. Les compteurs électroniques actuels présentent de nombreux avantages pour les compagnies d'électricité comme pour les consommateurs, dont un coût de fabrication, d'étalonnage et de maintenance réduit, et une plus grande précision. De plus, ces solutions fournissent aux particuliers des informations détaillées relatives à leur consommation effective tandis que la compagnie d'électricité dispose de données ponctuelles en matière de qualité de service. Les avantages pour les deux parties sont tangibles :

• les consommateurs peuvent suivre et maîtriser leur consommation avec une plus grande précision (par exemple, en utilisant leurs appareils électroménagers, lave-vaisselle, lave-linge et autres douches électriques - pendant des plages horaires où le tarif est le plus bas),
• tandis que les fournisseurs d'énergie peuvent générer et distribuer l'énergie avec une efficacité accrue.

ST fournira une solution complète de relevés de compteurs intelligents composée d'un système sur puce de communication sur courants porteurs (ST758x) qui constitue le coeur du dispositif, d'un puissant microcontrôleur 32 bits (STM32) et d'un circuit d'alimentation novateur.

Cet ensemble sera complété par un MOSFET et une mémoire EEPROM pour former le socle du nouveau compteur électronique d'Endesa. Par ailleurs, comme annoncé par Enel, le protocole SITRED de communication sur courants porteurs utilisé par cette nouvelle génération de solutions de gestion à distance de la consommation électrique, sera ouvert au marché.

Ceci signifie que le groupe Enel va mettre à la disposition de toutes les parties concernées la première solution de télégestion des compteurs électriques dont la fiabilité a été éprouvée sur plus de 50 millions de compteurs à travers le monde.

Cette étape concrète est fondamentale pour la progression du processus de standardisation lancé par la Communauté Européenne en faveur du développement d'un réseau de distribution d'électricité intelligent (le Smart Grid).

Ce déploiement de compteurs électroniques par Endesa place ST en première ligne pour exploiter ce nouveau cas de figure grâce aux relations établies de longue date avec Enel pour la fourniture de composants novateurs.

http://www.boursier.com/vals/FR/stmicroelectronics-selectionne-par-enel-news-352052.htm

Finland’s largest utility announces smart grid project

Fortum, the largest utility in Finland, has selected Echelon Corporation to provide smart grid-supporting software in a new project involving some 550,000 customers in the country. Telvent, a value-added reseller for Echelon, will provide Echelon’s Networked Energy Services (NES) system.

Fortum is a leading energy company among the Nordic countries and Russia along the Baltic Rim. The company generates, distributes, and sells electricity and aims to become the leading sustainable utility. The new project will be the largest smart meter deployment in Finland where there are approximately 3.1 million electricity customers. The new project will include more than one-sixth of them.

Depending on which type of system configuration is selected, Echelon expects the new contract to be worth between $50 and $60 million. The smart meter installations are scheduled to begin sometime in 2011 with completion coming by the end of 2013.

Fortum picked Echelon’s system for its ability to meet key objectives involving energy savings and home automation. The NES system can provide precise hourly measurements to retail customers as well as bi-directional measurement of renewable power generated at the home.
“With the new smart meters invoicing will be based on real electricity consumption,” says Timo Karttinen, senior vice president for corporate development at Fortum. “Better knowledge in turn improves energy efficiency and makes it easier to operate and manage network capacity when actual customer electricity consumption is known. In addition, the smart meters will be used for faster power failure resolution and as a platform for future services within electricity solutions.”

“We are pleased to be chosen by Fortum for this project,” said Manuel Sanchez Ortega, chairman and CEO for Telvent. “Finnish regulators have specified a rich set of high-level requirements that the smart grid infrastructure must meet, a trend we see growing throughout the world.”
“Utilities and regulators are looking to leverage their investments to build a truly smart grid, and together with Echelon, we are confident that we will help Fortum to achieve that goal,” Ortega continued. “Echelon has been a great partner, and I am sure that we will continue our successful relationship for many years.”

Echelon’s NES system includes smart meters that are connected by an IP-based network. The solution provides a high level of visibility into the power grid in addition to advanced billing services. Utilities benefit from the system through streamlined operations processes and enhanced customer service. Equipped with a secure ZigBee wireless interface, Fortum will be able to transmit information between smart meters and other devices within the home.
“This win demonstrates the vast capability of the NES system,” said Ken Oshman, chairman and CEO of Echelon. “We believe it provides the most advanced, flexible, and cost-effective smart grid infrastructure solution available. This win also demonstrates the strength and experience that our partner, Telvent, has in building powerful solutions that meet the growing needs of electric utilities worldwide.”

Echelon Corporation550 Meridian Ave.San Jose, CA 95126 USAhttp://www.echelon.com/
Fortum CorporationKeilaniementie 1, EspooP.O. Box 1FI-00048Finlandhttp://www.fortum.com/
Telvent Git, S.AValgrande, 6 28108Alcobendas, MADSpainhttp://www.telvent.com/

http://www.smartmeters.com/the-news/618-finlands-largest-utility-announces-smart-grid-project.html

Quand EDF combat les économies d’énergie

Voltalis, un fabricant de boîtiers destinés à économiser l'électricité, vient d'être condamné à verser une taxe à EDF, qui s'estime lésée par cette technologie. Au grand dam des usagers. Une décision de la CRE pour le moins surprenante !

Une décision « injuste et partiale ». Voilà comment Pierre Bivas, PDG de Voltalis, opérateur énergétique spécialisé dans la gestion de l'énergie pour les entreprises et les particuliers, qualifie la décision de la Commission de régulation de l'énergie (CRE). Selon nos informations, celle-ci vient de donner raison à EDF qui réclamait une « taxe » pour compenser le manque à gagner résultant des économies d'énergie réalisées par les clients de Voltalis.

Cette entreprise, créée en 2007, a en effet mis au point un boîtier qui se fixe entre le compteur EDF et le tableau électrique et permet de réaliser des économies d'énergie, déclenchées en temps réel par Internet, en stoppant par exemple le chauffage ou la climatisation. Des économies d'énergie qui allègent la facture des clients, au détriment d'EDF.
Le fournisseur d'électricité demandait ainsi « une rémunération de l'énergie effacée » par Voltalis. « Ceci signifie que, si un ensemble de clients d'EDF acceptent de réduire leur consommation, EDF exige d'être payé comme s'ils avaient consommé ! » précise Pierre Bivas. Cette taxe serait de l'ordre de 70 à 80 % des revenus de Voltalis, autant dire une ponction qui pourrait se révéler fatale pour l'entreprise. Les autres fournisseurs d'énergie (Poweo, Direct Energie…) se sont joints à EDF tout en réclamant une taxe d'un montant bien inférieur.

Une décision surprenante

Pierre Bivas estime qu'EDF cherche à freiner la généralisation de ce système car elle ne possède pas encore la technologie pour la développer elle-même. S'il ne s'étonne pas du lobbying effectué par l'opérateur historique, il regrette que la CRE s'en soit fait l'intermédiaire. « C'est une décision contraire à la mission de la CRE de servir les intérêts du consommateur, contraire au Grenelle de l'environnement et contraire aux lois du marché car elle constitue une entrave à la concurrence », s'indigne Pierre Bivas.
Une décision d'autant plus surprenante que le 18 juin, la Ferc, l'équivalent américain de la CRE, encourageait au développement d'un système analogue qui permettrait d'économiser 20 % de l'énergie électrique consommée aux heures de pointe. Pierre Bivas ne compte toutefois pas en rester là : « Voltalis se réserve la possibilité de recourir à toutes les voies de droit pour faire rétablir la prééminence des consommateurs sur l'intérêt des fournisseurs, et au-delà de l'intérêt général comme de la protection de notre planète, tous menacés par cette décision. » Contactée hier, EDF n'a pas souhaité faire de commentaire.

Source: http://www.leparisien.fr/economie/quand-edf-combat-les-economies-d-energie-18-07-2009-583726.php?xtor=EREC-109

tag: Marché

EDIT: En complément, un article du New york Time

100 Million New Smart Meters within the Next Five Years

Driven by energy legislation, open standards, and billions in smart grid funds, 100 million new smart meters are planned to be installed worldwide within the next five years. Almost half of these will have a Home Area Network (HAN) gateway for in-home energy management programs and services.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) June 17, 2009 -- Energy directives and billions of dollars in smart grid funding are driving hundreds of smart metering initiatives around the world. Over the next five years, $21 billion will be spent on smart metering infrastructure, according to a recent report by ON World.

"Smart grid initiatives are transforming the metering industry," says Mareca Hatler, ON World's research director. "Open architectures, increased regulation, and evolving standards are challenging the status quo and resulting in new alliances that would have been unheard of just a few years ago."

Smart grid initiatives are transforming the metering industry

Open architectures, increased regulation, and evolving standards are challenging the status quo and resulting in new alliances that would have been unheard of just a few years ago.

ON World's Benefit to Cost evaluation found that the inclusion of advanced demand response applications such as dynamic pricing can increase the benefits by at least 35%. By providing consumers with real-time energy information, they can participate in managing their own energy expenditures as well as feeding micro generated energy sources such as solar and wind back to the grid. Similar findings have led dozens of utilities in the US, Australia and Europe to include plans for demand response as part of their smart metering rollouts.

ON World has identified several technology trends that are enabling the smart grid:

Open Standards:
Metering infrastructure investment has resulted in large scale open standards efforts such as the US Smart Grid Interoperability Framework project, the European Commission's smart grid standards, and the IEEEP2030 smart grid standard.

Migration to IP
The emphasis on open architectures has resulted in Internet Protocol (IP) gaining prominence, pushed by smart grid initiatives from Cisco, GE, and Google. Duke recently announced it was working with Cisco on an end-to-end smart grid communications architecture based on IP. The latest trend is IP addressability to the endpoint, as demonstrated by Silver Spring Networks' smart meter system that is being rolled out in more than 12 million IP addressable meters in the US and Australia.

WiMAX
ON World's study found that WiMAX is a potentially disruptive technology for smart meter networks with its high scalability, large bandwidth, IP addressability and potential for service bundle opportunities. ON World's software simulations show that WiMAX is capable of providing 100% completed transmissions in large scale networks of 100,000+ nodes per base station. GE Energy's yet-to-be launched WiMAX based smart metering system is being trialed by several utilities in the US as well as Energy Australia and SPAusNet in Australia.

Home Area Networks
With accelerated deployments from the recent smart grid funding, there could be more than 100 million new smart meters installed worldwide over the next five years. Almost half of these will have a Home Area Network (HAN) gateway for in-home energy management programs and services. ON World's survey with 77 utilities in the United States found that 21% are planning a HAN gateway for every smart meter.

ZigBee Smart Energy
ZigBee, the most popular HAN technology, is currently being rolled out in over 30 million smart meters in North America and Australia. ZigBee offers robust security and low power wireless networking and its Smart Energy profile was recently selected as one of the standards to be included in the US Smart Grid Interoperability Framework.

Based on 150 interviews with utility project managers, vendors, suppliers and government agencies, this report presents the global market opportunity for smart metering. It includes five year market size forecasts, coverage of 61 companies, in-depth technology analysis, and a deployment matrix of 178 smart meter projects worldwide. For more information, go to: http://onworld.com/smartmeter

About ON World:
ON World Inc. provides world class business intelligence on Smart Technology markets. Our research reports and information services are sold to Fortune 1000 companies, startups, and investors worldwide. More information is available from http://www.onworld.com.

Media Contact:
Mary E. Purvis
ph: 858-259-2397
Email: research (at) onworld (dot) com

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/06/prweb2539644.htm

1.7 billion electric meters, 767 million water meters and 395 million gas meters in world today

De quoi aiguiser quelques convoitises

London, U.K. --- (METERING.COM) --- June 12, 2009 - In 2008, there were 1,698 million electricity meters, 767 million utility or billing water meters, and 395 million gas consumers in the world, according to ABS Research's latest world meter reports on the three sectors.

In the electricity sector the annual demand in 2008 was 132 million meters. This is expected to rise at an unprecedented annual rate of 7.5 percent to 176 million meters in 2012, with the value of the market rising even faster, at 15.3 percent, from €3.9 billion ($5.7 billion) in 2008 to €6.9 billion ($8.7 billion) in 2012.

In the water sector the annual demand in 2009 is expected to be 87 million meters (74 million billing meters and 13 million submeters), essentially unchanged from 2008, or 50 million excluding the essentially inaccessible Chinese and Japanese markets. However, the market is expected to show an upturn in 2010 with growth of 3.9 percent for the next three years to reach a demand of 98 million meters in 2012.

In the gas sector the total demand for utility meters in 2008 was 27 million meters (20.7 million meters excluding the Japanese market), and is expected to rise to 31.4 million meters in 2012.

Electricity

The electricity meter report identifies 32 countries that have decided to proceed with advanced metering – covering 416 million electricity end points in the next 5 to 12 years – and says the global metering market will increase 56 percent in five years, with more to follow. However, it is not all good news. Not every deployment will offer the same opportunities to the international meter manufacturers. Some of the largest schemes are in markets which are not accessible to the international vendors. To optimize the opportunity the good planner will need to direct resources to the countries where the chances are best.

Long term the problem is that the dynamics of the market will be totally changed. After the initial deployments in the next five to ten years there will be an immediate lull in demand. For example, on current plans for AMI the European market alone will decline by almost 60 percent for a period as large swathes of the meter fleet will have been completely renewed and will need no replacement. Another ripple to this comes with privatization in Eastern Europe. Old electromechanical meters are being replaced by (mostly) basic electronic meters, creating another category of new meter fleets. At some point after that replacement will recommence, and it will be based on a shorter meter life than in the traditional electromechanical meter installations, so demand will increase.

In past years before these technology changes in meter demand have approximated to a sine curve. This is now being interrupted but the trends are in their infancy and as yet are not completely mapped because full plans are not known.

Water

The water meter market has been impacted by the collapse of the construction industry and a reduction in demand for new residential meters, most notably in China, the United States and Spain, the water meter report says. However, easing economic conditions, an increase in the incidence of metering to conserve water, and a move to intelligent metering will contribute to the expected upturn in 2010.

Moreover, the water meter sector is beginning to change, following in the path of the advanced metering revolution taking place in the energy sector, but at some distance behind it. In the U.S. water utilities started to deploy AMR several years ago but it has not reached parity with the energy utilities. The emphasis is now changing for both sectors, to AMI. In a time of rising water prices there is a need to control costs but another important consideration enters the equation for water, scarcity of the resource. In recent years there have been a number of critical droughts in countries scattered over the globe. In some countries that rely on hydropower this has lead to a shortage of electricity, as was the case in Brazil several years ago. In other countries it has affected both industry and the population. In Taiwan in 2008 water was rationed to industry in order to provide drinking water for the population. In China scarcity of water is a national priority at the highest level. In the Middle East, Spain, and the southern states of America water scarcity is a recurrent problem.

Smart water meters are being deployed to manage the resource and this is a growth area. Irrigation meters are also increasingly prominent.

Gas

The gas meter market has been following the electricity meter trend to AMR in the U.S. for some years and is increasingly doing the same in Europe, but at a much slower pace, the gas meter report says. With a new consciousness towards energy efficiency, driven partly by fears about the environment and partly by concern about energy security, gas utilities are now considering advanced metering, jumping from AMR one-way to AMI two-way communication.

The U.K. is the first country to announce a national roll-out of advanced electricity and gas meters, totaling 49 million meters.

It is expected that gas metering will follow the trend to advanced metering more widely in the next few years.

http://www.metering.com/node/15482

Smartmeter would create or retain 231,000 UK jobs

... A report from the London School of Economics on smart meters released two weeks ago found £5bn of investment in a smart grid would create or retain 231,000 UK jobs, with a significant proportion coming from the growth of the industries connected to meter production, maintenance and development. Ernst and Young estimates industry will have to install meters in 2.6 million households a year to meet targets...

http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2242240/minister-details-smart-meter-4665806

rchung90230 : A twitter energy collector

Un bon point de depart pour se constituer un stock "d'amis" sur twitter

http://twitter.com/rchung90230 est un compte twitter très original. Son but n'est pas de mettre du contenu mais de collecter les meilleurs Twitter dans le domaine de l'energie, du green, du management d'energie, du smart grid, smartmeter, ... rchung90230 dispose à ce jour de 198 amis dont livemetering. L'ensemble de ses "amis" est accessible sur http://twitter.com/rchung90230/friends

Les compteurs intelligents : prévoir et maîtriser ses consommations d’énergie

Rien de neuf, un article seulement bien écrit.

Finis les vieux compteurs à relever manuellement ! Place désormais à la technologie des compteurs intelligents : ces derniers sont capables d’identifier et de communiquer en temps réel la consommation énergétique exacte d’un appareil, d’un foyer, d’un bâtiment, ou d’une entreprise. Un outil efficace pour traquer les gaspillages et les pertes qui concerne aussi bien l’électricité que le gaz ou l’eau.

Contrairement au compteur classique, le « smart meter », en anglais, effectue d’abord des relevés plus précis et détaillés. Les mesures appareil par appareil sont possibles. Puis les informations sont automatiquement et immédiatement envoyées au producteur ou au gestionnaire du réseau via la ligne téléphonique (les ondes des téléphones mobiles, de la radio, le Wifi ou Internet peuvent également être utilisés). De quoi fournir au client des factures bien plus exactes, basées davantage sur la consommation réelle plutôt que sur des estimations.

Les postes qui consomment le plus peuvent aussi être rapidement identifiés, ainsi que les gaspillages, les microcoupures ou les pertes sur les réseaux électriques, de gaz naturel et d’eau (et les fraudes !). Et les consommations sont même traduites en unités monétaires, pour une meilleure lisibilité. Eviter les heures de crêtes (surtarification) devient un jeu d’enfant ! Selon les estimations, une réduction de 10 % des dépenses énergétiques peut être effectuée : une bonne nouvelle pour le climat. Sans compter que la suppression de postes liés au relevé des compteurs aboutira sans doute prochainement à une baisse des coûts de distribution d’énergie.

Un marché prometteur

Selon une étude réalisée par Capgemini (une des plus grandes sociétés de services en ingénierie informatique du monde), 25 à 40 % des foyers européens disposeront de compteurs intelligents d’ici 2012, contre 6 % aujourd’hui (le Paquet climat-énergie recommande que 80 % des consommateurs en soient équipés d’ici 2020, de quoi économiser plus de 100 millions de tonnes de CO2 par an !). Il faut dire aussi que le marché mondial représente déjà quelque 8 milliards de dollars par an, et progresse de 5 % chaque année. Un rythme qui devrait même doubler dans les prochaines années, boosté par la chute des prix (aujourd’hui, environ 50 euros l’unité).

Car partout dans le monde, la pratique se développe : Barack Obama a annoncé près de 5 milliards de dollars d’investissements pour déployer ces compteurs aux Etats-Unis. En Suède, le taux de pénétration pourrait se situer aux alentours de 100 % dès la fin 2009. Au Canada, ce sera en 2010. En Italie, 36 millions de consommateurs seront équipés en 2011. Et en France, 33 millions de compteurs seront bientôt installés. Investissement : 4 milliards d’euros.

07/05/2009

http://www.developpementdurable.com/conso/2009/05/A1644/les-compteurs-intelligents-prevoir-et-maitriser-ses-consommations-denergie.html

First deal outside the United States with two Australian utilities

Deux utilities australiens vont installer 1 million de compteurs intelligents d'ici 2013. Les différents marchés internationaux offrent des défis différents pour le déploiement de compteurs intelligents. Une petite revue des acteurs et des techno par région. Selon cet article EDF deployerai une solution CPL propriétaire.

15/04/2009

The smart meter networking and communications provider lands its first deal outside the United States with two Australian utilities planning to install 1 million smart meters by 2013. Different international markets offer different challenges for smart meter deployments.

Silver Spring Networks has landed its first contract outside the United States – a deal to enable an eventual 1 million smart meters in Australia with its networking technology.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based startup announced the deal with Australian utilities Jemena Electricity Networks and United Energy Distribution on Wednesday. The utilities hope to have 1 million Silver Spring-enabled smart meters from U.K.-based meter maker PRI installed by 2013.

The news adds an international contract to the many Silver Spring has landed with U.S. utilities – Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Florida Power & Light and American Electric Power among them – to enable two-way communication between utilities and customers, thus making the meters "smart."

It's a booming business in the United States, which has an estimated 140 million traditional power meters that could be upgraded, though so far the number of smart meters installed is in the low millions, according to recent estimates (see Smart Meter Installations Grow Nearly Fivefold). Canada has another estimated 10 million endpoints.

But North America is far from the only market. In fact, Europe likely holds the current lead, with at least 27 million smart meters installed by Italian utility Enel and millions more in other nations, according to a March report from ABI Research (see Notes From a National Smart Grid Experiment).

Australia, with a population of about 21 million and an estimated 14 million "end-points," or homes and businesses served by power meters, isn't such a large market by comparison, noted Ben Schuman, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities.

Still, landing the contract "validates that their solution can be applied to markets outside North America, which opens up a huge incremental opportunity for them," he said.

Specifically, he noted that the Australian deal indicates that the nation is a good candidate for Silver Spring's radio frequency mesh technology.

Silver Spring equips meters with radios that mesh together in a 900-megahertz frequency range and send data to central collectors for "backhaul" over utility wide-area networks -- a typical means of smart meter communications in the United States (see Smart Grid: A Matter of Standards).

In contrast, European utilities have mostly opted for power-line carrier technologies that send data over existing power lines, Schuman said. Italy's Enel, which uses technology from Echelon Corp., is one example, he said. French utility EDF plans to use its own power-line carrier technology to link an eventual 35 million endpoints in a massive smart meter project, he said.

Power-line carrier is more cost-effective in Europe because utilities there tend to serve more homes per transformer than in the United States, he said. Because those transformers interfere with power-line carrier signals, they must be bypassed with repeater devices, at costs that tend to be too high in U.S. markets, he said (see Will Smart Grid See a Push for Power-Line Networking?).

Silver Spring's Australian presence could grow, said Eric Dresselhuys, vice president of markets. The Australian state of Victoria, which the utilities serve, has mandated that 2.5 million smart meters be installed within its borders, he said.

"There is now a national plan for smart meters in Australia," he added. "We suspect that all of the large utilities throughout the country are going to work to be in compliance with those requirements."

Other Australian utilities are trying different smart meter technologies. San Francisco-based Grid Net, which has developed technology for installing WiMax Internet routers in smart meters from partner General Electric, is testing them with SP AusNet and Energy Australia (see GE Offers WiMax Smart Meter Solution).

The utilities are also considering power-line carrier and cellular networks for their smart meter deployments, according to ZDNet Australia.

Silver Spring has raised about $160 million since 2007, including $90 million since October (see Silver Spring Grabs $75M and Green Light posts here and here).

The company expects to see about 2 million meters with its technology deployed by the end of 2009 (see Green Light post). PG&E, its biggest customer, had installed about 150,000 Silver Spring-enabled electric smart meters as of February, and plans to have 5.3 million electric meters installed by 2011, most of them using Silver Spring technology.

As for PRI, the U.K.-based smart meter maker is involved in projects in Europe, the Middle East and New Zealand as well as Australia, and also makes home energy monitoring devices.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/silver-spring-heads-down-under-6051.html

EnergyHub et Ember décrochent des fonds pour les compteurs intelligents ZigBee #market

Lévé de fond de plusieurs millions de dollars pour Ember et EnergyHub. Selon le cabinet de recherche In-Stat, le marché mondial des compteurs sans fil à transmission ZigBee atteindra 292 millions d’unités en 2012.

13/04/2009

Retenez bien ce mot : ZigBee. Il s’agit d’une norme de transmission sans fil par radiofréquence, devenue un peu l’équivalent du wi-fi pour les appareils intelligents, tout spécialement les compteurs électriques intelligents qui doivent communiquer à la fois avec les appareils électriques de la maison et la compagnie d’électricité, pour permettre au consommateur de piloter l’énergie de sa maison.

Aux Etats-Unis, les investisseurs ne jurent plus que par ZigBee. Ils ont d’ailleurs accordé des fonds cette semaine à deux sociétés qui promeuvent ZigBee : Ember, qui fournit puces et logiciels à loger dans des compteurs pour qu’ils communiquent par ZigBee, et le fabricant de consoles de pilotage des données électriques EnergyHub, autre application de ZigBee.

EnergyHub, société créée l’an dernier, a ainsi enfin bouclé sa première levée de fonds pour financer un projet pilote dans 50 foyers, afin de préparer le lancement commercial de ses produits courant 2009.

Le montant n’a pas été dévoilé mais devrait être de l’ordre de quelques millions de dollars. Les bailleurs de fonds sont .406 Ventures et Physic Ventures. La console d’EnergyHub se place n’importe où dans la maison et affiche toute sorte de données sur la consommation d’énergie, grâce à des transmetteurs sans fil à technologie ZigBee. Elle devrait coûter un peu moins de 100 dollars.

Parmi ses concurrents Tendril, Greenbox mais aussi Trilliant ou encore Intel, qui s’est allié à GE pour apporter les mêmes données aux PC ou écrans télés, sans besoin d’une console spéciale.

Mais l’avantage d’EnergyHub est que son appareil peut afficher des données de consommation même sans compteur intelligent, seulement en étant branché sur une prise.

Cette semaine également Ember, l’un des principaux fabricants de système de transmission ZigBee a levé 8 millions de dollars auprès des fonds Polaris Venture, GrandBanks Capital, RRE Ventures, Vulcan Capital, DFJ ePlanet Ventures, New Atlantic Ventures, WestLB Mellon Asset Management ainsi que Chevron Technology Ventures et Stata Venture Partners.

Ember est présidée par Bob Metcalfe, l’inventeur de l’éthernet, qui est aussi un associé du fonds Polaris. Elle est généreusement dotée : elle avait déjà levé 81 millions auprès de STMicroelectronics, Hitachi Corporation et du MIT.

http://www.greenunivers.com/2009/04/energyhub-ember-fonds-compteurs-intellgents-zigbee-4515/

Smart meter delay may hinder 2020 green target #market #uk

Les services publics du Royaume-Uni mettent en garde des retards dans l'ajustement de la technologie des smartmetering. Les objectifs en matières de changement climatique prevu pour 2020 pourrait être retardé de 4 ans.

LONDON (Reuters) - Smart meters are set to make estimated energy bills a thing of the past, but utilities are warning that delays in fitting the technology could hinder the country's progress in hitting its 2020 climate change targets.

Some industry players claim that unless ministers allow firms to begin work soon, the UK could even miss 2020 by four years.

They also say government funding may be needed to meet the estimated 6-12 billion pounds cost.

"There is a target, but the problem is that the starting gun hasn't been fired," the director of smart metering for British Gas, Petter Allison, said.

Smart meters provide data on energy use, allowing utilities to send customers accurate bills without using traditional metre readers.

The government aims to install the meters by 2020, the same year in which ministers are trying to meet a target of generating 15 percent of energy from renewable sources.

Experts say the technology will help Britain achieve its goal by allowing people to cut their energy use, reducing the need for new power stations and wind farms.

Millions of households in other countries already have the meters -- Italy fitted 30 million in four years -- but the UK has yet to decide how best to fit the 47 million needed in homes and businesses.

Ministers approved the principle of the rollout last year, but an announcement about how it would be done is still awaited.

British Gas, owned by Centrica, wants a structure allowing utilities to fit and run them for their existing customers, backed up by a central communications system.

It said an alternative system being considered, under which new regional franchises would do the work, could stall the process and put it back four years.

"If (the government) chooses the regulated way, with bids for regions, then everything would stop because we don't know who would be doing what," Allison said. "We can make up delays, but we just need them to make a decision."

FUNDING

Utility support service group Spice, which fits water meters in homes and businesses, said government support may be needed to offset potential funding difficulties.

Chief Executive Simon Rigby said smaller energy firms may be reluctant to invest in fitting meters for customers, only to see them switch to a rival supplier later.

"The pay-back is sketchy at best," he said. "Smart meters can't come soon enough, but I think they're years away."

The Energy Retail Association (ERA), a body representing utility firms, said it was keen to see the meters rolled out as soon as possible and was expecting a decision "fairly soon".

"Timing is of the essence," a spokeswoman said. "Companies are keen to get this programme off the ground because the 2020 deadline is fast approaching."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) said the aim to complete the metre rollout by 2020 was realistic. "That's what we're hoping to achieve."

"We're confident, which is why we need to make the right decisions so it can be done within the timescale," she said.

"It (involves) a massive overhaul in every house, so it needs to be done correctly."

She said ministers hoped to publish a consultation document in the next couple of months.

The document will set out options including whether energy companies should do it in their areas, whether it should be done by third parties on a regional or national basis, and the type of communication system needed.

Ian Parrett, an analyst at energy consultancy Inenco, said ministers needed to encourage industry co-operation in fitting the meters, rather than setting targets and penalising firms if they fail to meet them.

Ensuring homes and businesses used them to control their energy use was as important as fitting them, he added.

"It's all very well installing the meters, but if you don't use the information (they provide), it won't make any difference."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKTRE53134720090402?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

02/04/2009

Metering 2009 issue1- Some articles

• Metering 2009 issue1 - AMR Technologie in the Asia Pacific Region.pdf
• Metering 2009 issue1 - A Regional study of in-home display units.pdf
• Metering 2009 issue1 - Advanced ISKRAEMECO Management.pdf
• Metering 2009 issue1 - CINTERION wireless modules.pdf
• Metering 2009 issue1 - DLMS.pdf
• Metering 2009 issue1 - Régulation of Gas Smart Metering in Italy.pdf
• Metering 2009 issue1 - STAR ENERGY-water-gaz integrated AMR system.pdf

AT&T partners with SmartSynch for wirless smart grid IP #market #us

AT&T annonce son partenariat avec le fabricant de compteur intelligent SmartSynch pour developper un reseau sans fil avec des compteurs electriques IP.

By Camille Ricketts | March 17th, 2009

AT&T announced today that it will open its wireless network to smart meter maker SmartSynch, allowing electric utilities to install its IP-based smart grid technology in even more residential areas. Every SmartSynch SmartMeter will now send energy use information to utilities and homeowners over the expansive AT&T network, saving millions of dollars in network infrastructure, expansion and maintenance costs.

Now any consumer with AT&T service will be able to understand their energy consumption in economic terms, encouraging them to cut down on unnecessary use, especially during peak periods. There are several companies and tools that provide the same information — Tendril, Greenbox and soon Google PowerMeter, among them — but AT&T claims its new system will increase the speed and efficiency of communication between meters, homeowners and utilities.

“This is the first announcement of a major network provider really getting into the smart grid business, and AT&T is the largest wireless provider in the country,” says SmartSynch chief executive Stephen Johnston. “Hopefully this will encourage other businesses in the IP-based communication space like Motorola, Qualcomm and others to get involved.” He cited mobile phone applications that allow users to remotely monitor and adjust home energy consumption as a key area for expansion.

The wireless giant says it chose to work with SmartSynch because it’s the only company that offers end-to-end smart grid intelligence on any device (cell phones, computers, etc.). Plus, it already works with the decade-old smart grid company to connect meters in commercial and industrial settings with more than 100 different utilities. This new move is essentially a big bet that the residential smart meter business will take off in the next several years — but it’s also a fairly safe one, considering the billions of dollars the recent economic stimulus plan has earmarked for smart grid expansion. President Obama himself has urged the installation of at least 40 million smart meters in homes across the country.

AT&T has had its hat in the smart grid ring for a while but has more plans in store. On top of these efforts, it says it has also cemented useful relationships with U.S. utilities by providing them with mobile applications that track fieldworkers, detect power outages and remotely monitor electrical systems. These connections could come in handy as it deepens its involvement in the smart grid’s rapid evolution.

SmartSynch raised $25 million last year in fourth-round funding. Its investors include Credit Suisse, Batelle Ventures, Beacon Group, Endeavor Capital Management, GulfSouth Capital, Battelle’s affiliate Innovation Valley Partners, Kinetic Ventures, OPG Ventures and Siemens Venture Capital.

Source: http://venturebeat.com

Amsterdam as Smart City: Going Green, Fast #market

Avec l'aide d'IBM, Cisco, Philips, Nueon et d'autres sociétés, la ville va disposer d'une infrastructure de contrôle d'énergie.

Among Amsterdam's 17th century town houses and meandering canals, big changes are afoot. On Utrechtsestraat, a major shopping avenue in the center of the Dutch capital, street trash soon will be collected by nonpolluting electric trucks, while the electronic displays in local bus stops will be powered by small solar panels. Elsewhere, 500 households will pilot an energy-saving system from IBM and Cisco aimed at cutting electricity costs. An additional 728 homes will have access to financing from Dutch banks ING and Rabobank to buy everything from energy-saving light bulbs to ultra-efficient roof insulation.

The projects, all getting under way over the next few months, represent Amsterdam's initial steps toward making its infrastructure more eco-friendly. The move comes as governments worldwide set aside billions of dollars to create so-called "smart cities," or towns that mix renewable projects, next-generation energy efficiency, and government support to cut overall carbon dioxide footprints. Yet, unlike cities that could take decades to upgrade their infrastructure, Amsterdam aims to complete its first-round investments by 2012. That makes it one of the first and most ambitious adopters of the smart city concept, attracting attention from policymakers worldwide hoping to glean lessons from the green experiment.

Smart Grid Technology

All told, the municipality, energy outfits, and private companies are expected to invest more than $1 billion over the next three years. That figure includes a $383 million investment by local electricity network operator Alliander in so-called "smart grid" technology that uses network sensors and improved domestic energy monitoring to trim electricity use. Also part of the plan: up to $255 million to be spent by local housing cooperatives on boosting household energy efficiency, and $383 million from companies including Phillips and Dutch utility Nuon to be invested in other energy-efficient technology.

"In the next year and a half, we expect to be the leading smart city in Europe," says Ger Baron, senior project manager at the Amsterdam Innovation Motor, a public-private joint venture that is overseeing the project. "We're in the right place at the right time."

The focus on cutting cities' emissions could have a major impact on the battle against global warming. As of 2006, more people now live in urban areas than in the countryside, and the sprawl surrounding megacities such as Mumbai and Saõ Paolo is only likely to increase. Consultancy Accenture reckons cities produce almost two-thirds of total global carbon dioxide emissions through a combination of car fumes, household energy use, and industrial manufacturing. In the coming years, policy shifts from the US and elsewhere will put even more pressure on controlling carbon output.

"Until now, there's been an underemphasis on what cities can do to cut emissions," says Mark Spelman, Accenture's global head of strategy.

Cutting Household Energy Use

That's why Accenture has teamed up with utilities in North America, Europe, and Asia to figure out the best way to reduce cities' carbon dioxide emissions. In the first project -- a $100 million venture in Boulder, Colo., led by Xcel Energy -- some 60,000 households will be connected to a smart electric grid by June 2009. In early trials, households have been able to cut their energy output by as much as 50 percent thanks to real-time network monitoring and the installation of smart meters that let customers adjust their energy use by time of day or other factors.

In Amsterdam, city planners are taking things a step further. Dutch grid operator Alliander, which is 30 percent owned by the province that includes Amsterdam, will spend €100 million ($127 million) annually until 2016 to upgrade its entire network to a smart grid. That will include installing new meters in homes that detail consumer energy use and relay the data back to utilities. By 2011, says Paulus Agterberg, Alliander's director of strategy and innovation, almost all of Amsterdam will be on a smart grid. "You have to spend your money (on infrastructure) in the right way," he adds.

As the city's energy infrastructure gets a face-lift, local policymakers also are devising ways to maximize the new smart grid technology. On tap are a dozen projects, split across consumer and commercial markets, that will begin as pilots but are expected to ramp up over the next three years depending on their success. One plan will give 728 households in Amsterdam access to microfinancing to buy energy-efficient products for their homes. Once installed, the investment will be repaid through savings on households' utility bills.

"Banks see this as a huge business opportunity, but they're still not sure how big the market will be," says Amsterdam Innovation Motor's Baron.

IBM and Cisco's Home Energy Display Panels

Another project, in conjunction with IBM and Cisco, will involve installing energy display panels into 500 homes that convert data from smart meters into comprehensible info for customers. That will allow households to more easily monitor their electricity use, as well as permit companies to offer additional services, such as appliances that could be controlled from the central display panel or domestic power points for electric cars. Amsterdam Innovation Motor's Baron says 200,000 homes, or almost one-third of the city's housing units, will be using the technology by 2011.

"The scope of the Amsterdam project is more ambitious (than plans in the US)," says Jeff Taft, Accenture's global smart grid chief architect.

Ambitious yes, but Amsterdam's plans come with a hefty price tag. According to estimates, it will cost $410 per household over 15 years to install smart grid technology alone. Additional outlays, particularly the up-to-$255-million estimated to make the city's homes energy-efficient, could be a tough sell for consumers already suffering in the economic downturn.

Yet by converting Amsterdam into a smart city, local planners expect to bolster the economy through public and private investment, as well as cut emissions by 40 percent by 2025. Says Amsterdam Innovation Motor's Baron: "The aim is to create innovation."

Scott is a reporter in BusinessWeek's London bureau.

source: http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,613503,00.html

Metering 2009 issue1 Régulation of Gas SmartMetering in Italy

Metering2009issue1-RégulationofGasSmartMeteringinItaly

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape smart metering itali

Linky: presentation of the new French electric smart meter #product #market

"Linky", le nouveau compteur électronique "communicant" appelé à remplacer les 35 millions de compteurs électriques équipant les foyers français, a été présenté mercredi à Tours où il sera expérimenté dès mars 2010 sur 100 000 clients. Le compteur permet de charger ses informations de consommation sur une clé usb pour les afficher sur un ordinateur. Par contre pas d'info, ni sur la technologie utilisée pour la "communication", ni sur les possibilités d'ouverture de ce compteur à des tiers --xb.

En plastique vert anis, "Linky", haut de 19 cm, large de 10 cm et profond de 6 cm, fabriqué en France, est un compteur "communicant", c'est-à-dire qu'il permet de transmettre et de recevoir des données à distance.

Il sera expérimenté en Touraine où 100.000 compteurs seront installés entre mars et septembre 2010, selon un communiqué d'ERDF, filiale distribution d'EDF.

"Ce compteur est une révolution technologique pour les clients et les acteurs de la chaîne électrique. Equipé d'un micro-ordinateur, il permet de mieux maîtriser sa consommation, réduit le temps d'intervention et améliore la facturation", a déclaré Jean Vigneron, directeur du projet, lors d'une conférence de presse, mercredi à Tours.

A l'aide d'une clef USB, glissée dans le compteur, le client peut charger des informations sur sa consommation, sur les incidents éventuelles survenues sur la ligne, sur sa puissance et sur les tarifs du distributeur et du fournisseur, pour les afficher ensuite sur son ordinateur.

"Aujourd'hui, le changement de puissance demande un delai de deux à cinq jours. Avec ce compteur, en deux heures, le changement est effectué. Les techniciens interviennent directement, sans se déplacer", explique le responsable.

Le particulier pourra reconstituer son historique de consommation, comprendre pourquoi il a consommé plus ce mois-ci que le mois précédent. Il n'aura plus besoin d'attendre chez lui la venue d'un agent chargé de relever les compteurs pour sa facturation établie désormais sur un relevé de consommation réelle.

ERDF (électricité réseau distribution France) remplacera en Touraine, les anciens compteurs, en grande majorité électro-mécaniques, par "Linky", à raison de 1.000 par jour à partir de mars 2010. Cent vingt techniciens seront mobilisés pour cette opération qui ensuite sera généralisée à toute la France. Le nouveau compteur doit également être testé à Lyon, à la même période.

Source: http://fr.news.yahoo.com