Norwegian Energy Consortium to Roll Out Smart Meter Network

The first step in any smart grid building enterprise has to be in the smart home, with a smart meter. Smart Strøm Nordvest, a consortium of 10 power utilities in Norway, will install 150,000 smart electricity meters beginning in 2016 to start that process. Local supplier Kamstrup will provide the units.

The plan also includes adding a new communication system to the power grid that will be designed to deal with meter data on an hourly basis. The roll out of the smart electricity meters will start in the power utilities' supply area in Nordvestlandet and it will continue until 2018. Prior to the roll out, a pilot project will run in two areas, which will cover a total of 2,000 metering points.

The new electricity metering plan will allow customers to stop having to read meters for monitoring energy use and will make it possible for the

utility to replace advance bills with invoices that are tied to exact consumption rates. Thanks to the new meters, the customers will also have access to hourly meter readings, if they want them, giving them much greater control over their electricity consumption.

In the last few months, Kamstrup has entered into a number of agreements with several Norwegian power utilities, including Agder Energi Nett, Dalane Energi, Gaudal Nett, Kvikne and Rennebu Kraftlag, and Oppdal Everk.

“Kamstrup's system delivers the highest meter performance and the best integration on the market,” said Per-Otto Lie, Norwegian Sales Manager, Kamstrup. “This means that Smart Strøm Nordvest can reduce their costs and risks from day one, and during the entire project period. All ten power utilities will optimize their supply and create a business that is even better financially, which consumers will also benefit from.”

Let the smart meter revolution begin in the frozen north.