Atos Signs Major Smart Metering Contract With EPS - Leading Electricity Provider In Serbia

In line with EU Energy Efficiency Directive to equip at least 80% of consumers in every EU country with smart metering systems by 2020

Atos, an international leader in digital services, has been selected by EPS, the Serbian state-owned electricity provider as its lead partner to manage the complex transition of over 216,000 electricity meters to smart meters which is the first phase of a transition program encompassing existing 3.3 million meters in Serbia. Atos will also manage and monitor the infrastructure to support the new smart meters. A consortium - led by Atos Worldgrid, with SAGEMCOM as co-contractor and supported by the local Atos team in Serbia, EWG (Serbia) and Hexing (China) - will manage the project that will be delivered in five regions of Serbia. The smart meters and supporting technology and infrastructure are expected to be delivered by the end of 2017 in accordance with EU Directive 2020.

The project* will fully modernize the Electricity Distribution Infrastructure in Serbia and ensure compliance with the latest regulations. The number of smart meters will grow over time and the new solution is fully scalable and able to manage any number of smart meters. The solution is based on Atos Smart Grid Suite (ASGS) and will incorporate parts of Sagemcom including gateways, C&I meters and associated HES, PLC meters and M2M engine. EWG and Hexing will also supply part of the meters. Atos Worldgrid experts and its partners share their experience and expertise to guarantee the best of breed solution and a smooth transition.

Adaptable software to comply with any future regulatory changes

The software will improve the efficiency, management and the control of the power distribution system, reduce the distribution operating costs and losses, and improve the overall level of invoicing and revenue collection, thanks to daily and accurate data collection. The G3 PLC-based smart metering solution is the most advanced in the world offered to EPS and its residential customers, and fully connects commercial and industrial clients through the unified platform Atos delivers, enabling any potential regulatory change in the future.

Alexander Obradovic, CEO at EPS: "The implementation of the smart metering rollout provides all operators with major challenges. We chose the Atos Worldgrid and Sagemcom consortium out of offers from various competitors as our lead partner due to their extensive international experience, and unrivalled track record in delivering such mission critical systems. They have already gained valuable experience in the rollout process in Europe and we fully rely on them as our long-term partner in this complex transition." He pointed out the great importance of this project for EPS and that he expects EPS to get the modern world-class product with the highest standards.

The consortium's solution is designed to become the foundation of EPS's future smart grid operation. The ASGS platform is built as a smart grid-ready system offering multiples new services targeting optimized grid control and enhanced services to the end customer. Atos Research & Development and marketing teams continuously bring enhancements and new features to the ASGS platform to ensure leading utilities stay at the forefront of innovation. As part of its smart grid suite, new data analytics modules are by now available and will be further enhanced to support EPS typically in term of:

• Advanced power losses management
• Enhanced distribution asset management
• Value add, connected homes services to end customers.

Jerome de Parscau, CEO at Atos Worldgrid concludes: "Atos Worldgrid is the European leader in the implementation of smart metering systems. As the only service provider we cover all requirements throughout the process, from transmission protocols and concentrators up to the central data management. We are delighted with this smart metering project in Eastern Europe, a market with an impressive growth potential and we are proud to offer EPS the right expertise to make this transition a success. Our ambition is to become EPS key partner in their digital transformation".

The EU Energy Efficiency Directive stipulates that in every EU country at least 80 percent of consumers are equipped with smart metering systems by 2020. The government of Serbia has put the highest level of priority to the modernization and liberalization of the national energy market. As a consequence, EPS has set out to launch a large scale transformation program, which includes the optimization of its distribution operations.

*Composed of 216,000 interoperable meters, 2,200 gateways, five Advanced Metering Management systems (AMM), and one Metering Data Management System (MDM)