Landis+Gyr lays foundations for Slovenia’s smart grid

April 1, 2010 – Landis+Gyr, a global supplier of smart meters and energy management solutions, will be contributing to the further development of Slovenia through the deployment of smart metering infrastructure and energy-efficiency tools for the residential sector to the country's largest utility, Elektro Ljubljana. The utility's decision to invest in advanced metering is based on a compelling business case rather than a response to regulatory requirements.

“We recognised the importance of introducing smart metering given the benefits offered – such as detailed billing and consumption data and other related services to help end consumers better monitor their energy consumption, thereby helping them achieve true energy efficiency – as well as helping us improve our network management,” says Igor Podbelšek, Executive Director at Elektro Ljubljana, “We decided to invest in smart metering infrastructure following a series of pilot projects during 2007 and 2008. Results of these projects showed us that the technology was robust, reduced distribution costs and improved services for the end consumer while at the same time increasing network efficiency. As a result of their technology and product performance we chose Landis+Gyr as our partner.”

“This project covers 50,000 metering points and demonstrates that there is a strong business case behind smart metering as a new technology. I am glad that a leading utility such as Elektro Ljubljana is looking at ways to build the end-consumer benefits it offers into their service portfolio, as well as their business model ,” says Sebastijan Lupsa, Landis+Gyr CEO, Slovenia.

The largest utility in Slovenia, Elektro Ljubljana supplies the capital city of Ljubljana and its suburbs and covers 325,000 metering points.

Smart meters serve as a communication hub between a utility and the end consumer, providing utilities with the necessary infrastructure to achieve better network management, new services and energy efficiency. Smart meters also provide the backbone of the concept of the smart grid that enables two-way communication and better balancing and monitoring of generation, which together create information transparency for consumers.