Avantha Group Company CG was selected by ERDF -Electricité Réseau Distribution France, the public electricity distribution company managing 95% of the electricity distribution network in continental France, as one of the six suppliers to manufacture the first three million of its new generation Linky smart meters.
This contract is a significant achievement for CG, a company that has built its competitive strategy in the development of smart grid solutions, under ZIV brand, based on its own technology and a unique mix of knowledge in protection and control, communications and metering technologies.
The technological strength of ZIV smart meters backed by a large field experience on the behavior and performance of powerline communication networks of different nature has proven to be a key factor, as it results in a direct benefit to the utilities by offering more flexibility when modifications or upgrades are requested.
ZIV smart meters and data concentrator units from CG are gaining a strategic position in the Smart Grid European market where it has achieved key wins in 2014. Large-scale deployments are planned in the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and France. CG will face new challenges with agility, implementing a new supply chain in France to manufacture ZIV smart meters and associated products.
The initial order is the first phase of a 35 million unit rollout by 2021. According to ERDF, the Linky program is a major industrial program that will create 10,000 jobs located in France. By modernizing the distribution grid, this program will bring important benefits for the consumers helping them to better understand their electricity bills and reduce consumption, and at the end, helping to preserve the environment by means of a more efficient grid management.
