Could you please tell us more about your experience working with Iskraemeco. What are some of the biggest challenges and successes you’ve encountered along the way?
Our partnership with Iskraemeco began eight years ago, coinciding with Romania’s shift towards smart metering and the country’s changing energy regulations. In view of ensuring compliance with the new regulations, we sought out providers of smart metering solutions. We’ve been familiar with Slovenia as a leading force in this field for years, and our discovery of Iskraemeco and its products was a perfect fit for our customer requirements. Despite the initial challenge of securing regional approvals—a process spanning three years—our collaboration has proven to be highly productive and valuable.
Why did you decide to partner with Iskraemeco in the first place?
Our decision to partner with Iskraemeco stemmed from their notable smart metering products and solutions, precisely tailored to address our customers’ needs and challenges. Notably, Iskraemeco’s flexibility extends to the customization of meters, devices, and software platforms aligned with the regional regulatory framework to suit the regional requirements.
Iskraemeco has showcased an ability to address the key pain points of our customers.
Accuracy of billing data:
- Objective: Ensure precise billing data to mitigate revenue loss from inefficiencies, inaccurate billing, and electricity theft.
- Iskraemeco’s value: Offering reliable metering and seamless data transfer to utility data systems, eliminating the risk of missing billing data.
Data quality, quantity, and utilization:
- Utility pain point: Challenges in obtaining quality data, managing large data volumes from meters, and utilizing the data effectively.
- Objective: Implement mechanisms for precise measurements and leverage data analytics for actionable insights and decision-making.
- Iskraemeco’s value: Providing up-to-date information on energy consumption, network status and power quality, helping consumers to optimize network usage through effective monitoring.
Centralized data access and unification:
- Utility pain point: Dispersed data across isolated systems hindering centralized access and unification.
- Objective: Deploy a unified head-end system (HES) to centralize data management and streamline operations.
- Iskraemeco’s value: Offering a comprehensive solution with centralized data collection and access supporting all meter readouts. The HES seamlessly integrates with third-party systems. This integration ensures unified data utilization across utility IT systems.
Cybersecurity and grid security:
- Utility pain point: Concerns regarding cybersecurity threats and grid data security.
- Objective: Enhance cybersecurity measures to safeguard the grid infrastructure and sensitive data from cyber threats and breaches.
- Iskraemeco’s value: Implementing and maintaining the highest standards of data security to secure grid infrastructure and protect against cyber threats, ensuring data integrity and system resilience.
Iskraemeco has an impressive track record of delivering reliable, high-quality metering solutions, adaptable to diverse regional customer needs.
What are the trends on the Romanian market? What are the hot topics and technologies?
Reflecting broader European trends, Romania faces challenges in integrating renewables, including eMobility, PVs, and grid flexibility. Collaborating closely with our customers, we explore solutions to address these complex challenges. We know that Iskraemeco has innovative smart grid management solutions, designed to support modern applications.
Can you share an example of a project you worked on with Iskraemeco that you’re particularly proud of? What made it successful?
Our collaboration with Iskraemeco has yielded several successful projects, including the provision of 22,000 smart meters utilizing the MT880 and MT174 meters, alongside the Symbiot software suite. Our partnership began with proof-of-concept trials and then progressed to inclusion in trusted supplier lists, driven by customer satisfaction with the meters’ reliability, flexibility, and functionality.
What benefits do you see in your collaboration with Iskraemeco?
Our cooperation with Iskraemeco is underpinned by several key values. Firstly, Iskraemeco’s products are developed entirely within the EU, ensuring the transfer of in-house expertise across research, development, design, production, and delivery. This integrated approach enables rapid customization and problem-solving that is precisely aligned with customer requirements. Moreover, Iskraemeco has an impressive track record of delivering reliable, high-quality metering solutions, adaptable to diverse regional customer needs.
Since implementing Iskraemeco’s solutions, what improvements have you seen in the customer performance?
Following the implementation of Iskraemeco’s solutions, we were able to identify several improvements in customer performance.
- Data analytics enable informed decision-making, empowering customers with up-to-date information on energy consumption and network status.
- Centralized data access facilitates streamlines operations, while enhanced cybersecurity measures safeguard sensitive data from threats and breaches.
What are your future plans and goals for this cooperation?
Looking ahead, we remain committed to our long-term partnership with Iskraemeco and confident that our journey together has only just begun.
