Brazilian utility eyes rollout of 6.5 million smart meters

Brazil’s largest privately owned energy company plans to roll out 25,000 smart electricity meters by the end of 2012. The deployment is part of a broader smart-grid effort that will eventually reach millions of the utility’s customers.

CPFL Energia Holdings is working with IBM to develop a smart-grid strategy that will make its energy networks more efficient and resilient. The project includes initiatives for automatic meter data collection, meter data management and an optimized communications network.

CPFL launched its smart-grid strategy in 2009 when became a member of the Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition (GIUNC), a group of energy and utility companies working to further the adoption of smarter energy grids around the world.

“Investing in a smart grid is more than a trend; it is a market requirement, especially here in Brazil where power consumption and population are expected to increase over the coming years,” said Rubens Bruncek Ferreira, director at CPFL Energia.

CPFL’s smart meter deployment is designed to help its operations center quickly identify potential faults and other events on the grid. The automated meters will also enable technicians to perform remote preventive service, reducing downtime and unnecessary field visits.

The utility plans to eventually roll out smart meters to 6.5 million residential customers.

“The CPFL SmartGrid projects illustrate how utilities worldwide are adding digital intelligence to their operations, with the goal of fundamentally changing how power is managed and distributed in their regions,” said Guido Bartels, general manager for Energy and Utilities industry at IBM and chairman of the Global Smart Grid Federation.