Swiss firm Landis+Gyr said it has recently expanded smart grid capabilities in Central America with the completion of an advanced metering project for Empresa Eléctrica De Guatemala S.A. (EEGSA), to support the utility’s time-of-use (TOU) rates for reducing peak electricity demand.
The five-month project involved deployment of Landis+Gyr’s Gridstream Connect network across the utility’s service territory and installation of advanced residential and commercial meters on nearly 11,000 high-consumption accounts. Landis+Gyr also supplied a Spanish-language consumer web portal allowing consumer access to usage and rate information to better adapt to rate incentives.
“Working with Landis+Gyr, we were able to install the full network and meters over a five-month period. This allowed us to meet regulatory requirements and will enable us to offer TOU rates to any customer who requests them in the future,” said Giovanni Salazar, head of smart grid operations at EEGSA.
In addition to this project, EEGSA is exploring other applications for the network, including water metering and smart street lighting. The advanced IoT network also supports sensing and automated switching devices to enable distribution automation, load management and improved system maintenance.
“This project demonstrates the benefits grid modernization is bringing to Central America and we are excited to work with a partner like EEGSA to install scalable technology they will be able to build upon for future smart grid initiatives,” said Prasanna Venkatesan, EVP of the Americas region for Landis+Gyr.
EEGSA is an energy utility serving 1.3 million electricity customers in Guatemala. EEGSA employs about 565 people, its distribution network extends and serves Guatemala, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments.
Landis+Gyr also recently announced the award of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) contract by the Hong Kong Electric Co. (HK Electric) in support of Hong Kong’s transformation into a smart city.
The contract includes the deployment of Landis+Gyr’s Gridstream solution platform comprising Landis+Gyr smart meters, communications infrastructure, head-end system and meter data management system over the next two years. Additionally, the contract provides an opportunity to help HK Electric optimize the value of its grid assets by leveraging Landis+Gyr’s Advanced Grid Analytics for selected use cases.
“We are proud to support HK Electric with their digital transformation through the adoption of AMI technology. With our best-in-class experience in AMI solutions and a strong Hong Kong based solutions and delivery team, we look forward to helping HK Electric to meet its future sustainable development goals,” said Steve Jeston,EVP for Asia Pacific at Landis+Gyr.
HK Electric is committed to protecting the environment and supporting sustainable development by progressively increasing the use of natural gas to generate electricity. In recent years, the utility has placed greater emphasis on promoting innovation as an integral part of its corporate strategy through the adoption of new technology. Implementing smart metering offering for its customers is one of the supporting initiatives to transform Hong Kong into a smart city.
“AMI is an important technology for HK Electric. Not only does it allow us to improve our customer services and enable our customers to better manage their electricity consumption, it also enhances our visibility into the grid for better monitoring and control, which moves us closer to a smart grid,” said Raymond Choi, GM for customer services at HK Electric.
