Ericsson announced it has been selected by Italgas, a part of Snam Rete Gas, a leading natural gas distributor in Italy, to provide innovative smart meter solution for industrial users.
The decision to implement smart meter technology is driven by the recent reforms and legislative ruling in the gas distribution sector in Italy. Companies that implement innovative technologies to drive operational efficiency and integration of resources will be rewarded.
Italy’s Regulatory Authority for Electricity and Gas (AEEG) has established that 60 percent of residential gas meters and 100 percent of industrial gas meters must be telecontrolled by the end of 2018.
Italgas will leverage Ericsson’s technology to deliver the first advanced meter management and reading system in Italian gas market. The technology will help Italgas gather data from gas meters and transfer it to Italgas’ internal IT environment.
Additionally Ericsson’s solution enables event collection, command handling, network configuration and real-time monitoring of multivendor gas smart meters from remotely. This will help the gas provider increase service quality and reduce costs.
The partnership supports Ericsson’s strategy to support the Networked Society, said Nunzio Mirtillo, head of Ericsson Region Mediterranean.
“ICT is already transforming many industries such as the utility sector – enabling smart grids to deliver real-time information, giving companies greater control over their energy usage and saving money on their energy bills,” Mirtillo added.