Getting ready to replace one million electricity meters

DONG Energy is getting ready to replace approximately one million electricity meters in North Sealand, the Greater Copenhagen area and Frederiksberg. The comprehensiveproject is in the preliminary stages, where an EU tender is being conducted, IT systems and meters are to be delivered, and communication to the customers must be prepared. Altogether, it is expected that it will take 2-3 years before the first new electricity meters will be installed. But the replacement will go really quickly because the project must be completed by the end of 2020 at the latest.

Knud Pedersen, Vice President in DONG Energy, said: "We're already working on it, and when the project is up and running, we expect to replace 1500 electricity meters on a daily basis." 

The first time round, 6-8 companies will have the opportunity to qualify via an EU tender which has just been published. The potentially major order attracts attention, and several interested companies have made statements in the Danish business newspaper Børsen on 10 April.

Søren Eriksen, who is Deputy Director at Schneider Electric and has prepared the company's bids for the order, said: "It will be the largest project of its kind ever undertaken by the Schneider Electric group if we win the task."

Eltel Networks is also ready and has targeted a part of the tender specifically.

Michael Jørgensen, who is Sales and Marketing Director at Eltel Networks, said: "It is an insanely large project. There are 15-20 consortia of companies who are competing for this task."

Jørgensen continued: "We hope to be the ones who are going to replace 1500 electricity meters a day for three years. This will provide jobs for up to 150 technicians."