"The company has been awarded a contract worth 3.4 million euros by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the largest power utility company in the Middle East serving nearly five million customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), to supply ZIV three phase smart meters," a company statement issued here stated.
SEC has taken a key step into the deployment of smart grids by defining a new functionality and a new data model for the performance of the smart meters.
The segment of small commerce end-users will be the first one to have the meters replaced by the new smart meters and successive contracts are expected to be awarded in the short run, it said.
"The Saudi electricity market is the largest in the Arab world, with a peak load of 53,864 MW in 2013 and demand is predicted to increase by around 7-8 per cent for the future, driven by a growing population, rising per capita consumption and an ever expanding industrial base.
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The technological strength of ZIV smart meters backed by a large field experience on the behaviour and performance of different communication technologies has proven to be a key factor for CG in gaining a strategic position in the global smart grid market, he said.
"This project is an important step in the implementation of advanced technologies and innovations for sustainable and cost-efficient ways of energy consumption in Saudi Arabia," Demortier added.
CG offers ZIV meters, data concentrator units (DCUs) and distribution automation solutions (DAS).