Fortum completes smart meters installation project in Finland
Fortum has completed the installations of new smart electricity meters in Finland. A total of 610,000 smart meters were installed over the course of three years in Fortum’s distribution areas.
The new meters are part of the smart electricity network of the future,enabling more efficient energy use and supporting the transition towards a more ecological energy system. Additionally, the smart technology helps to reduce the number and duration of power outages.
“Our studies show that Finnish consumers are increasingly interested in their own electricity consumption, and consumer interest in electricity consumption will increase when shifting to the hourly measurement of electricity consumption and real-time billing,” says Fortum’s Timo Karttinen, Executive Vice President, Electricity Solutions and Distribution. “Our Finnish customers can look up their electricity consumption online through the Fortum Valpas service, where consumption can be monitored on an hourly basis.”
Minister of Housing and Communications, Pia Viitanen, delivered the Finnish Government’s greetings to the official closing of the project. "The smart electricity network gives all Finns the possibility to make choices that conserve energy and the environment. I am delighted that Fortum’s project put the customer first and that the company already has a number of services that take advantage of the attributes of the new meters," said Minister Viitanen in Espoo today; October 4.
Finnish legislation requires hourly-based meter reading by the end of 2013. The system to be deployed for Fortum’s customers makes it possible to offer advanced services that are well beyond the minimum requirements set by law.
Close to 200 people worked in the project, and a completely new meter management system supplied by Schneider Electric was deployed. Eltel Networks was responsible for installation of the meters. To date Fortum has not been able to install new meters to approximately 0.5 per cent of its distribution customers in Finland. These locations are typically summer cottages. Fortum's aim is to install new meters also to the remaining customers in the coming months.
“Fortum’s Smart meters project succeeded beyond all expectations,” says Project Manager Harri Hauta-aho. “The meters were installed according to schedule and our customers provided very good feedback about the installation technicians.”