Endesa and Enel export their remote management model to Latin America

Endesa and Enel are carrying out a pilot project in Brazil with the remote management solution that is being rolled out in Spain. The initiative is being developed via Coelce, Endesa’s distribution subsidiary for the Brazilian state of Ceará, which has over three million customers and electricity sales of 8,850 GWh 2010.

The objective of this first pilot project in Latin America is to verify the technical operation and compatibility of this remote management solution developed by Enel and Endesa. It is based on the model already in operation in Italy, whose reliability is proven following the installation of more than 30 million meters.

This pilot project has kicked off with the installation of 100 meters in supply points and several concentrators in the corresponding transformer centres in the Fortaleza area. Meanwhile, technicians from Coelce and Ampla (Brazilian distribution subsidiaries) and Chilectra (a Chilean distribution subsidiary) are attending training sessions on installing the new equipment in the field and the operation of the remote management system. Coelce has thus become the first Latin American company to use remote management technology for residential customers.

Brazil is the first Latin America country in the process of approving a regulatory framework for the implementation of remote management. The joint working group has received official visits in Spain and Italy from the Brazilian regulatory authority Aneel, the national meteorology institute Inmetro, and the governor of Ceará, Cid Gomes, to see the remote management system in action.

The aim in Spain is to roll out this system, which permits all operations on the power distribution grid to be carried out automatically and remotely, marking the first step towards the creation of smart grids. To this end, the company is replacing the meters of all domestic customers with contracted capacity of up to 15 kW with the new smart meters. By the end of 2015 Endesa will have installed over 13 million new devices which will be managed from the Operations Centre in Seville inaugurated in October 2010.

Endesa, which began installing smart meters in June 2010, is the first company in Spain to start the large-scale replacement of electricity meters with smart devices.

Enel is the first company to roll out a smart metering project and the world leader in this type of technology. The company has already installed more than 30 million devices in Italy, with significant benefits for both customers and the power grid.

The company’s commitment to remote management technology has been strengthened by the recent inclusion of Ampla and Coelce in Meters and More, the association set up by Enel and Endesa to promote the standardisation in Europe of the latest generation of open communication technology, the basis of the remote management system.

The positive results so far from the pilot project run by Coelce, underpinned by the sharing of best practice, will strengthen synergies between the Group’s companies and pave the way for smart grid initiatives in Latin America.

www.endesa.com/