IBM already has a major presence in numerous smart meter research efforts and pilot projects around the world.  The IT giant now will bring smart electric and water meters to Malta in a big way.

The announcement was made on February 4 that the company was taking on the €70 million project that will deliver a smart grid to Malta, an island nation in the Mediterranean.  The project will take five years to complete. The effort will involve replacing a quarter-million conventional electric meters with smart meters and upgrading the water system where it can be monitored and managed remotely, according to IBM. Customers will be able to use the Internet to track their utility usage in real-time.  They will also be able to choose the best plan and can pre-pay for their services.

IBM hasn’t announced what entities are backing the project or who its partners will be.  The deal was actually finalised late last year.  The new system is to be completed in 2012.

The Malta effort is one of IBM’s smaller smart grid projects.  Big Blue made a number of huge deals last year including pilot projects with CenterPoint, American Electric Power and Consumers Energy.  All three American utilities have millions of customers.

Last November a partnership was formed between IBM and French utility giant EDF to develop computer models, optimisation software and other tools to determine how a smart grid will work once networked communications, renewable power, and distributed power sources are integrated.

IBM is a member of several smart grid industry alliances including the GridWise Alliance and the Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition.  In 2008 it formed its own group, the Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition.

Drew Clark, director of strategy at IBM’s Venture Capital Group has focused upon smart grid companies as targets for investment this year.  These companies range from manufacturers of smart meters, to developers of supporting software and communications technologies.  In the third quarter of last year smart grid and energy efficiency start-up companies overtook biofuels as the second largest source of venture capital.

Given the scope of overhauling the American power grid, it’s not surprising major companies and venture capitalists are taking note.  That effort will require investments worth between $50 billion and $65 billion according to the Edison Electrical Institute.

More than likely IBM had direct influence shaping the stimulus package making its way through Congress.  In December of 2008 IBM CEO Sam Palmisano briefed the Obama transition team about the merits of a smart grid.

Even though the Malta project may be a small fish for IBM to fry compared to the huge market in the United States, the effort will certainly be appreciated by the Maltese government.  Malta has very limited sources of domestic power and fresh water.

"This agreement will not just transform Enemalta metering operations but will help us introduce new back-office applications to provide an unprecedented customer relations service,” said Karl Camilleri, chief executive at Enemalta, the national utility.  “With the right infrastructure in place to distribute electricity on the national grid we are looking at ways to both optimize current operations, as well as open up potentially new untapped markets in the way we conduct our business.

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

CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
P.O. Box 4567
Houston, Texas
http://www.centerpointenergy.com

American Electric Power
1 Riverside Plaza
Columbus, Ohio, USA 43215-2372
http://www.aep.com

Consumers Energy
P.O. Box 30079
Lansing, MI 48937-0001
http://www.consumersenergy.com

EDF Group
22-30, avenue de Wagram
Paris, 75382
France
http://www.edf.com

Edison Electric Institute
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004-2696
http://www.eei.org

Enemalta
Church Wharf,
Marsa MRS 1000, Malta
http://www.enemalta.com.mt © smartmeters.com. No Reproduction without permission.