Vodafone Wins £75m Deal To Connect Scottish Power To Smart Grid

Vodafone has secured a €100 million (£75m) contract to monitor Scottish Power Energy Networks’ energy infrastructure and implement smart grid technologies.

The four year deal will see the operator improve monitoring and fault identification systems and the data gathered and analysed will influence the priorities of the energy provider’s £6 billion network investment programme over the next eight years.

Scottish Power’s transmission and distribution networks cover more than three and a half million homes and businesses across the UK, comprising more than 110,000km of power lines and underground cables as well as more than 30,000 substations across Scotland, Merseyside and North Wales.

Smart energy

It is hoped the deal will help modernise the network, improve reliability and efficiency

“A world-class power distribution network relies on world-class digital communications to function effectively,” said Vodafone Global Enterprise chief executive Jan Geldmacher. “We welcome the opportunity to work with ScottishPower in support of the company’s plans to meet the long-term needs of its customers.”

“This is a major contract that is designed to enhance our network operations and ultimately benefit our 3.5 million customers,” added SP Energy Networks CEO Frank Mitchell. “We look forward to working with Vodafone who will provide communications systems that will help us to manage the day-to-day reliability of our network and plan for the future.”

The government plans to rollout smart energy meters across the UK as part of an £11 billion scheme. However the project has been labelled a ‘potential IT disaster’, with a survey last year suggesting 56 percent of Brits were against the proposals, believing they will benefit energy suppliers – not customers.