Technical details of smart meter upgrade bids being assessed

Bids submitted by three corporate teams to an international tender for supply and installation of 180,000 digital power meters in a selection of areas around the country as a pilot program are now being examined for their technical details, the tender’s organizer, HEDNO, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, has announced.

Once this crucial stage has been completed, the financial offers of bidders will be appraised as the final step of the selection process.

Should no problems emerge during this advanced stage of the tender, which has been severely delayed following a series of deadline extensions offered to bidders, a winning participant, to be commissioned the job of replacing conventional meters throughout Greece, will be announced within the next few months. The nation’s upgrade to digital power meters, or smart meters, ought to have been completed about seven years ago.

The new system will offer consumers real-time updates on electricity amounts used and efficient monitoring.

HEDNO, locally acronymed DEDDIE, also plans to digitally upgrade its network with the installation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This strategically important project, planned for the next five years, will have a budget of about 55 million euros. A pilot program is currently in progress for two areas, western Thessaloniki and Mesogia, a wider region on the eastern outskirts of Athens.