Image: © lovelyday12/Stock.adobe.com
Smart meter project to be rolled out to Irish homes and businesses in 2019 and 2020.
Around 250,000 smart electricity meters will be deployed on behalf of ESB Networks by a consortium consisting of engineering giant Siemens and smart metering firm Kamstrup.
ESB Networks, which supplies electricity to approximately 2.3m households in Ireland, has begun the roll-out of smart meters like many of its counterparts across Europe.
‘The upgrade to modern electricity meters is an important enabler of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan’
– EOGHAN BARRETT
As well as the smart meters network, the consortium will also deploy a remote reading system and a data management system for ESB.
A Siemens-owned company called Omnetric will be responsible for smart meter data integration with the existing communication and enterprise infrastructure of ESB.
For climate action, information is power
A close-up of the new smart meters going into 250,000 premises. Image: © Kamstrup A/S
ESB said that it decided to roll out smart meters for the benefit of consumers, the economy and the environment. “The upgrade to modern electricity meters is an important enabler of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan,” said Eoghan Barrett, manager of the smart metering programme at ESB Networks.
“To tackle climate change, the meter upgrade programme is an essential foundation to maximising the benefit from Ireland’s growing renewable generation capability, and supporting the electrification of transport and heat – using clean electricity to displace carbon fuels. We believe the integrated solution from Kamstrup and Siemens will support us in achieving this goal,” Barrett said.
Siemens Ireland CEO Gary O’Callaghan said the project marks a step forward in the digitalisation of Ireland’s energy network. “The global shift towards decarbonisation, together with customers demanding much more active engagement with and from energy companies, means our energy systems are becoming increasingly complex,” he said.
Both Siemens and Kamstrup have worked together on similar smart meter deployments around the world since 2012. The Irish project is planned for execution during 2019 and 2020, and a state-of-the-art data collection system called Kamstrup Omnia will be combined with the Siemens EnergyIP smart meter data management technology.
“Our industry-leading platform Omnia, used for data collection, and our smart meters OmniPower are based on extensive experience and proven technology,” explained the CEO of Kamstrup, Kim Lehmann.
“Our solution will provide ESB Networks with accurate, reliable and secure data, which is fundamental for ESB Networks to establish a stable and flexible network, and provide good customer service,” Lehmann said.
