DEER wants to acquire 1.1 million smart meters for customers

Distribuție Energie Electrică Romania (DEER) launched, through the SEAP public platform, an open tender for the purchase of 1.1 million smart meters, with a maximum value of 371.6 million lei, excluding VAT.

DEER accelerates investments in smart meters, obtaining European funding for 5 projects, from the Modernization Fund, under Investment Measure 3.2. – Supporting investments for the expansion and modernization of the electricity distribution network, to finance the expansion of the smart metering system:

• Implementation of the intelligent electricity metering system at the level of county seat cities in the North Muntenia area: Galați, Brăila, Focșani, Ploiesti and Târgoviște;

• Implementation of the intelligent electricity measurement system at the level of the county seat cities in the Southern Transylvania area: Brașov, Sibiu, Târgu Mureș, Alba Iulia and Miercurea Ciuc;

• Implementation of the intelligent electricity measurement system at the level of county seat cities in the North Transylvania area: Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, Zalău, Baia-Mare;

• Modernization of electrical energy distribution networks of Rășinari commune, Sibiu county;

• Switching to 20kV in the municipality of Moreni and upgrading the 110/20/10kV Moreni substation, Dâmbovița county.

Mihaela Rodica Suciu, DEER General Manager: “The implementation of smart networks and the promotion of smart metering represent two of the strategic objectives of our company. We operate in a regulated field, and the smart metering works, starting from 2019, follow an assumed calendar, for the realization of which we are making sustained efforts.

DEER manages an electricity distribution network with approximately 3,900,000 metered consumption sites of various technologies and generations. We aim to reach a percentage of 35% of our total users by the year 2028, from investments evaluated as effective, and we intend to finance the integration for the rest of the users by attracting non-refundable funds.

Smart metering is absolutely necessary, it should be a national priority. However, we are facing a big challenge – not only DEER, all distribution operators in Romania, as well as in Europe – respectively with very long delays in the delivery of equipment, the manufacturers acutely feeling the effects of the war in Ukraine, of the global crisis of parts needed to manufacture these meters , but also of galloping inflation. Demand has become very high, with the international semiconductor crisis and the war in Ukraine leading to a crisis in the market. In order to limit the effects of this chain of delays in existing contracts, we constantly search, identify and come up with back-up solutions that allow us to recover these delays, which occur independently of our will and desire. We hope for the return of the market and the concerted effort of equipment suppliers to unlock the situation.”

The procedure launched by DEER – “The provision of products and services necessary for the development of Intelligent Measurement Systems within the framework of financing projects from European funds (5 projects)” – was published, on SEAP, on 29.07.2024, the deadline for the submission of offers being 03.09.2024.