Landis+Gyr has successfully completed one of the largest smart metering field tests in Germany.
Results show that the smart metering systems conform to the country’s regulation and provisions, which are among the most stringent in the world, and function seamlessly with devices and software from other suppliers to the project – a significant technical provision of the German Federal Office for Information Security.
"Conducting this pilot project has shown us that our smart metering technology, which includes meters, gateways, gateway administration software and SAP systems work together seamlessly in practice; the test results form a crucial step on the way to certification of devices and IT systems from the German Federal Office for Information Security," says Peter Heuell, Landis+Gyr Country Manager Germany, "Landis+Gyr as a supplier is now ready for the rollout of smart metering in Germany."
Started in 2015, the field test forms part of a cooperation agreement between Landis+Gyr and German utility EnBW, signed in 2013. The cooperation agreement was the first of its kind to address the new regulatory requirements for smart meters in Germany, which are set out in the German Energy Act and in the country’s Protection Profile from the German Federal Office for Information Security.
The field test involved more than 400 customers of EnBW as well as from two local energy suppliers. The purpose of the test was to assess the suitability of smart metering systems and to check if system processes designed to manage the systems would work once applied; the potential for compatibility between the different systems was also assessed. Four device suppliers were involved, which meant that many communication technologies were working in parallel; data was transmitted over LTE mobile technologies, Ethernet as well as powerline technology. "In the test, energy suppliers were required to install different communications technologies," says Peter Heuell, "The gateway administration software from Landis+Gyr ensured that this was made possible."
A visualisation tool was also tested. Energy data that was communicated over the systems was put into a visual format, designed to enable the end-user to gain control over their data and to increase transparency. Landis+Gyr developed a dedicated interface to meet this requirement, which is set out by the German Federal Office for Weights and Measures.. Results show that the Landis+Gyr interface meets the requirement.
"EnBW is now preparing for the rollout, using information gained from the field test. We were able to win excellent experience in areas such as device installation, customer relationship management and insight into working with mobile and device suppliers," says Arkadius Jarek, Project Manager of the Rollout Metering Measurement System Infrastructure (ROMI) at EnBW daughter company Netze BW. "This experience provides the basis for the next phase of the journey on the way to the full smart metering rollout."
During the field test, smart metering devices and smart metering gateways from different producers were installed at the premises of the project participants. Data read out from these devices continues to be communicated to the relevant energy supplier. From October this year, EnBW will perform tests to see if smart metering devices are fit for the mass market in a dedicated pilot project.