Finnish utilities are leading European efforts to conserve energy and protect the environment by deploying Advanced Metering Management (AMM) solutions for businesses and consumers.
Landis+Gyr, a global leader in energy management solutions, during 2008 signed AMM contracts with five Finnish utilities that will install smart meter solutions enabling 145,000 new consumers to manage energy better.
An October 2008 report from VaasaETT, an energy think tank in Helsinki, found that energy savings via use of smart meters and in-house displays show average savings of 10.3%. Another 2008 paper, from the European Commission, estimates 7% energy savings for households and 10% for businesses.
The Finnish government regulation that is planned to become effective at the beginning of February calls on utilities to deploy smart meters in 80 percent of homes by end 2013. The mandate is similar to laws being enacted in other Nordic countries.
“Finland is in the execution phase of smart meter deployment, as utilities move quickly to meet government mandates,” said Ad van der Meys, Landis+Gyr’s Executive VP EMEA region. “Landis+Gyr believes that we must use the tools we have now to secure our energy future, and our products are key ingredients in that process.”
There are 3 million households in Finland and one in five is currently equipped with smart meters, with Landis+Gyr the leading supplier.
Building on early success in 2008 with Finnish utilities Jyväskylän Energia, Tampereen Sähkölaitos and Vaasan Sähköverkko Oy, Landis+Gyr has also signed contracts with two additional utilities Satapirkan Sähkö and Kemin Sähkö.
Satapirkan Sähkö, a consortium of nine different utility companies, will invest in smart meter solutions for eight of their members. Landis+Gyr is working with other manufacturers to tailor a solution to meet the specific demands of Satapirkan Sähkö: enabling the utility to work with multiple suppliers and remotely read and control their meters. This allows the utility to reduce the margin of error in billing, further ensuring the best customer service.
Data transfer between customer and utility is carried out using General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and power line carrier (PLC) systems in the urban areas and with GPRS connection in the rural areas – critical in enabling both rural and metropolitan customers to benefit.
