Networked Energy Services Awarded Smart Metering Project with LINZ NETZ
18 Jun 2019

Networked Energy Services Awarded Smart Metering Project with LINZ NETZ

 

LINZ NETZ extends its smart meter deployment with NES, strengthening the security of their deployment to meet Austria’s leading regulatory requirements

 

San Jose, CA, June 17, 2019:

 

Networked Energy Services Corporation (NES), a global smart grid solution provider with the industry’s leading Energy Applications Platform (EAPTM), announced today that LINZ NETZ has selected NES to provide its next expansion of smart meter infrastructure. The order is for over 80,000 single and poly-phase smart meters and supporting communications infrastructure and software, with an optional extension of 60,000 meters, to be delivered over 4 years.

 

Part of the decision to select NES was its history of successful deployment of meters into LINZ NETZ; providing reliable smart meters to its consumers and achieving high communications SLAs using the OSGP standard for PLC communications. This means that LINZ NETZ can automatically gather metering information, update meter configuration and firmware, and monitor power quality parameters with confidence, over the wire, and without having to purchase separate communications services.

 

The other important aspect was NES’ reputation and focus on security. The OSGP standard, which NES utilizes, provides an industry leading security solution, including AES 128 encryption and in-built mechanisms to detect threats, attacks and intrusion. The Association of Austrian Electricity Companies, Oesterreichs Energie, places the protection offered to consumers and the energy supply they receive and rely on as a top priority. As a foremost provider of a secure AMI solutions, NES was a clear leader as the partner for LINZ NETZ and its extension AMI project. Through collaboration with LINZ NETZ, NES will deploy its security solution which includes end-to-end encryption, role-based access controls, signed firmware and software and extended audit and logging. Another feature, firmware separation, stream-lines the certification process, providing greater flexibility and future-proofing to meet new security requirements on existing infrastructure.

 

The inclusion of wireless M-Bus in the NES meters, another technology innovation, means that NES meters can be used to connect to in-home displays presenting consumers with energy consumption information, read metering information from other utility meters and forms the basis for future-proof communication solution with other smart home devices.

 

Finally, the NES solution offers backwards compatibility so that all the generations of meters deployed for LINZ NETZ can be managed through the same monitoring and management solution – a feature which removes any disruption through the introduction of the latest generation of meters.

 

For more information, please download the full press release here:


Linz_Strom_Press_Release.pdf