Major telecoms and technology firms are beginning discussions in order to prepare for a run on the British smart meters contracts that is sure to worth billions of pounds.  Telecoms BT, O2, and Vodafone along with systems developers Accenture, Logica, IBM, and Capgemini have begun talks that are expected to result in a bidding consortium.
The companies expect a program to be mandated that will call for a smart meter installation within every British home.  The meters will precisely monitor the amount of energy homeowners are using and will provide insight into that energy consumption.  Government expects the project will revolutionise the energy industry and will result in lower energy consumption.  The tender will be launched in 2009.
In recent weeks the government and the energy industry has agreed to a broad strategy on how smart meters will be introduced and how the huge amount of data generated from the new meters will be processed.  The contract for the central information-processing repository alone is expected to run in the multi-billion pound range.

The mandate will require that all of the 26 million British homes be fitted with a smart gas and smart electric meter for a total of 46 million meters.  The new meters will give consumers the ability to monitor and manage their personal energy consumption through simple interface devices.  Smart meters have been proven to reduce energy consumption and will eliminate the need for estimated billing.

Implementing the smart meter installation project has been slow even though the government has made the scheme central to its energy policy.  A consensus only recently emerged among regulator Ofgem, the Department for Energy and Climate Change, and the big six energy companies on how the implementation will be carried out.

A blanketing rollout will begin in 2010 when each of the big six companies will be responsible for installing the new meters.  The project is expected to cost about £7 billion – or about £15 per home – each year.  The reduced operating cost for energy providers and the energy conservation generated by the smart meters is expected to more than offset the total cost of the project.

To guarantee transparency, a central communications group will be created that will digitally store, process, and distribute information and become a “go-between” for the smart meters in customers’ homes and utility companies.

The installation contract is expected to be managed by Ofgem and will take 12 years to complete.  The winning group to carry out the implementation will likely be made up of telecoms and systems integrators.  A chance remains that the entire contract will be broken down to regional installations.

The leaders of the big six companies are expected to pressure energy secretary Ed Miliband to speed up the project at a meeting on December 15 in order to meet the government’s goals for 2010.

“Smart meters will really revolutionise the energy-supply industry, and should give the UK’s energy customers very significant benefits through cuts in energy usage and much better customer service,” said a Centrica spokesman.  “They will also provide a key element of encouraging more micro-generation in people’s homes.”

BT
BT Centre
81 Newgate Street
London, ENG EC1A 7AJ
http://www.btplc.com/

Telefónica O2 UK Limited
260 Bath Road
Slough, Berkshire SL1 4DX
http://www.o2.co.uk


Vodafone Group Plc
Vodafone House
The Connection
Newbury
Berkshire RG14 2FN
http://www.vodafone.com

Accenture
Canon's Court 22 Victoria Street
Hamilton, HM 12
Bermuda
http://www.accenture.com

Logica
250 Brook Drive
Green Park
Reading RG2 6UA
http://www.logica.com

IBM
One New Orchard Road
Armonk, NY 10504
http://www.ibm.com

Cap Gemini S.A.
Place de l'Étoile
11 rue de Tilsitt
75017 Paris
http://www.capgemini.com

Centrica
Millstream
Maidenhead Road
Windsor
Berkshire, SL4 5GD
http://www.centrica.co.uk © smartmeters.com. No Reproduction without permission.