The drive to ‘go green' is being tracked by an increasing number of smart metering trials involving cell phone operators. The latest to be announced will be managed by Alcatel-Lucent with the involvement of Vodafone Germany and the smart meter provider Diehl Energy Solutions, offering a smart metering package to German utility Stadtwerke Pasewalk.
Alca-Lu said it would operate the central meter data management system to monitor and control the smart meters, while Vodafone Germany would provide the M2M cellular links and Diehl would install the smart meters and attached services.
The trial network has been designed to help Stadtwerke Pasewalk meet the upcoming EU's rules which will require consumption-dependent billing of gas, electricity and water as of the 1st of January 2010. It will also give the power utility's customers the ability to monitor their own energy consumption in real time and optimise it accordingly.
The European Commission has told member states that they have until the end of 2010 to agree on a common specification for smart metering to provide consumers with better information and help them manage their energy consumption. The Commission has stated that a timeframe for the roll-out of smart metering in European households should be agreed at the latest by the end of 2012.
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