Landis+Gyr’s Smart Meters to Power Ambitious Project in Spain

One of the world’s largest energy providers has renewed their trust in Landis+Gyr: Spanish market leader IBERDROLA has signed an order for the supply of more than 700,000 smart meters, after Landis+Gyr has already been chosen to provide a total of 1.5 million devices over the past six years. The newly ordered smart meters are of the latest generation and will be installed within the scope of the final phase of the STAR mass rollout, starting in 2017. By December 2018, IBERDROLA aims to equip all of its domestic electricity customers with smart meters, as required by Spanish regulations.

ZUG, SWITZERLAND – Feb. 15, 2017 – For nearly a decade, IBERDROLA has been a major driving force behind smart metering and grid digitization throughout Spain. As leader of the larger consortium PRIME ALLIANCE, the company has been looking for a solution that could combine advanced meter management (AMM) deployment with smart grids needs. Powerline Intelligent Metering Evolution communication technology (PRIME) based on OFDM technology (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) has proven to work very efficiently, so IBERDROLA launched the mass rollout STAR (Sistemas de Telegestión y Automatización de la Red/Remote Grid Management and Automation System) based on PRIME back in 2010. By its completion in 2018, the whole domestic customer base of IBERDROLA, consisting of nearly 11 million electricity consumers, will enjoy the advantages of smart technologies.

Efficiency to the fore

The initial phase of the rollout was focused on urban areas having a high consumer density, not to mention high demands in terms of security, reliability and service. To date, IBERDROLA has already equipped more than 8 million of its consumers with smart meters, of which almost 20 percent have been supplied by Landis+Gyr.

“We are delighted to further support the development of smart metering in Spain,” says Oliver Iltisberger, Executive President EMEA for Landis+Gyr. “We are committed to working with our customers to provide open solutions that contribute to the development of the smart grid and smart cities of the future.”

Latest technology for best service

To complete the smart meter’s rollout, IBERDROLA will install more than 2.5 million devices throughout 2017 and 2018. The volume supplied by Landis+Gyr will be an important part of the deployment, bringing the latest smart meter generation to the project, using the latest PLC (Power Line Communication) OFDM based PRIME solution and other critical functionalities such as cyber security.

“Landis+Gyr is proud of the results of this strategic project in Spain helping IBERDROLA in finishing their challenging Smart Meters rollout” says Javier Jiménez, Landis+Gyr CEO for Spain & Portugal. He further explains that this contract was the result of Landis+Gyr’s long-term commitment to the Iberian market. “It is our aim to serve our customers with best in class solutions. We are confident that our products and technology can both safeguard our customers’ investments and provide the compatibility for future smart grid needs.”

“Landis+Gyr has been an important enabler in the definition and development of PRIME technology since 2010. Furthermore, it has been a key player in the acceptance of PRIME as international open standard ITU G.9904”, says Nicolas Arcauz, IBERDROLA Global Smart Grids Director. “IBERDROLA is focused on interoperability and open solutions, and our smart roll-out comprises meters from up to 9 different meter suppliers. These employ up to 4 different, yet interoperable PRIME sources. We continuously retrieve performance metrics and compare KPIs of the different PRIME solutions deployed, and we are pleased to confirm that the performance of Landis+Gyr PRIME meters is second to none.”

About Landis+Gyr

Landis+Gyr is the leading global provider of integrated energy management products tailored to energy company needs and unique in its ability to deliver end-to-end advanced metering solutions. Today, the Company offers the broadest portfolio of products and services in the electricity metering industry, and is paving the way for the next generation of smart grid. With annualized sales of more than USD 1,5 billion, Landis+Gyr operates in more than 30 countries across five continents, and employs 6,000 people with the sole mission of helping the world manage energy better.