Iberdrola surpasses eight million smart meters installed in Spain
The company has already modernised 76% of all of its meters with subscribed power equal to or less than 15 kilowatts, totalling 10.5 million meters
This initiative, which the company is undertaking in 10 autonomous regions, is due to end in 2018 and represents an overall investment of over 2 billion euros.
Iberdrola has become one of the world’s most advanced companies in terms of smart grid infrastructure thanks to the high volume of installed and connected smart meters By the end of August, Iberdrola will boast more than eight million smart meters in Spain, all installed within the framework of project STAR (Remote Grid Management and Automation System) which the company is implementing in the 10 autonomous regions where it has power distribution networks.
The company has upgraded 76% of all of its meters in Spain with subscribed power equal to or less than 15 kilowatts, totalling 10.5 million meters, thereby surpassing the official schedule set by Spain’s Ministry of Industry.Moreover, Iberdrola has now adapted some 48,000 transformation centres throughout Spain by incorporating remote management, monitoring and automation capacities.
Iberdrola has thus become one of the world’s most advanced companies in the area of smart grid infrastructure thanks to the high volume of installed and connected smart meters along with the simultaneous adaptation of its distribution network by incorporating real-time monitoring and automation.Such information enables customers to know how their electricity consumption is distributed and make a more efficient use thereof, as well as decide which rate best suits their particular profile.
In addition to complying with the official programme for remote management, Iberdrola seeks to leverage this deployment in order to evolve technologically and improve its electricity distribution network by digitalising and automating it and, as a result, incorporate new smart grid technologies.Project STAR, which represents a total investment by the company in our country of more than 2 billion euros, will be completed in 2018. Over 10.5 million meters will be replaced and around 80,000 transformer centres will be adapted.
The catalytic effect of Iberdrola on the corporate fabric
With the gradual implementation of smart grids in Spain, Iberdrola once again underlines its significant catalytic effect on the country’s corporate fabric, with the corresponding positive impact on maintaining and creating jobs.
In recent years, the company has awarded contracts related to Project STAR to various manufacturers and suppliers, such as Indra, AEG, Arteche, Elecnor, GE, Gobesa, Ibérica Aparellajes, Premium, Fanox, Ingeteam, Landis&Gyr, Mesa, Orbis, Ormazábal, Sagemcom, Schneider, Siemens, Sogecam, Teldat, Zigor and ZIV, for an amount close to 800 million euros.
Some of the main advantages of smart grids include the integration of renewable generation, the possibility of massive electric vehicle implementation and the improvement in the efficiency of electricity usage. As for electricity usage, they enable services to be provided instantly, such as real-time meter reading, registration and termination of contracts, and modification of contracted power.
