A new tender for the procurement and installation of digital power meters and related systems around the country, essential for monitoring and swift pinpointing of technical problems, as the latest extreme weather conditions have highlighted, is being prepared for launch by distribution network operator DEDDIE/HEDNO after its previous tender, launched several years ago, was eventually brought to a standstill as a result of legal battles between rival bidders.

The operator has now started the procedure from scratch and prepared a new tender for the procurement and installation of 7.7 million smart meters, to gradually replace the country’s existing conventional meters over a five-year period.

DEDDIE/HEDNO invited prospective bidders to express interest in an announcement released in mid-December, energypress sources have informed.

The contract will include procurement and installation of point-to-point communication technology, an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system, as well as a meter data management (MDM) system.

The new tender will consist of two stages, a preliminary stage shortlisting bidders and a second stage for submission of financial and technical offers by participants.

Contracts for the smart meters and AMI system will be offered to up to three winning bidders, while the MDM system contract will be offered to one of these three.