ESO starts the procurement for smart metering infrastructure

ESO starts public procurement procedures for infrastructure necessary to install smart metering in Lithuania. The supplier will not only have to supply more than 1.6 million smart electricity meters, but also will have to provide an IT solution for taking and managing meter readings and infrastructure for communication. The procurement procedure will be held by way of a competitive dialogue, i.e. each supplier will be able to file an application for taking part in the procurement, and ESO will have a dialogue with the selected candidates. The successful tender will be the most economically advantageous one.

Currently, the investment is being coordinated with the National Commission for Energy Control and Prices. Tenders can be submitted for the tender procedure till 4 April 2019. The plan is to sign a contract with the supplier selected for installing smart metering infrastructure in QI of 2020, to start mass installation of meters in QIV of 2020 and to complete it by the end of 2023. According to preliminary calculations, investment in the implementation of the smart metering project will total EUR 200 million. 

For more information on the procurement, click:

-CVP IS https://pirkimai.eviesiejipirkimai.lt/ctm/Supplier/PublicTenders/ViewNotice/643872

-https://ted.europa.eu/TED/notice/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:101544-2019:TEXT:LT:HTML

About the smart metering project

When approving the project investments with National Commission for Energy Control and Prices, a wide range of financial, social and economic benefits to consumers, the distribution network and market empowerment has been discussed and calculated. They can be divided into three main categories:

• Long-term benefits to residents. As many as 450 000 consumers in Europe took part in 100 pilot projects in different countries. The review prepared by the European Smart Meters Industry Group (ESMIG) estimates that, depending on the involvement of consumers in pilot smart metering projects, their savings ranged from 5% to 8.7%. During the pilot project carried out by ESO in 2017, customers used up to 6% less electricity.
• Benefit to Lithuanian economy. Having installed smart meters and capturing consumption every 15 minutes, competition will be enabled, i.e. independent suppliers will be able to better compete for customers - to compete in terms of services, their quality, prices or other individual solutions. A similar transformation took place in the telecommunications sector twenty years ago. The installation of smart meters can be expected to help achieve market competition and dynamics, which will bring the greatest benefit of choice to every Lithuanian consumer.
• More efficient management of the distribution network. Having installed smart meters, ESO will be able to remotely see where and what consumption is illegal, and to promptly take action to stop such activity. Maintenance of the quality of the electricity network will become simpler, investments in the network will be better targeted, also optimizing costs of meter maintenance, the taking of meter readings and other costs currently incurred by ESO.