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Smart meters for the power grid of the future: Technische Werke Friedrichshafen entrusts Deutsche Telekom with complete rollout

  • TWF and Deutsche Telekom conclude five-year agreement
  • Partners call for better political framework conditions

Technische Werke Friedrichshafen (TWF) plans to install electronic meters for electricity, gas and water in all households in T-City on the shores of Lake Constance. Deutsche Telekom will install the infrastructure, transfer consumption data and process the data for TWF. The contract has a term of five years. By agreement, its volume remains confidential. "We have been working together with Deutsche Telekom on the testing of smart metering in T-City Friedrichshafen since 2008," said Stefan Söchtig, Managing Director of TWF. "During this time, it has become clear that a rapid, complete rollout is the most cost-effective solution. Consequently, we will be launching the new meters as quickly as possible." Söchtig added: "We started with simple rates in 2010 which reward the use of household appliances during off-peak periods in the evening or at weekends. TWF will shortly be offering a rate covering the electronic meter. In addition, TWF and Deutsche Telekom will work on offering more added value for consumers and business customers . However, financial support will be required from the authorities in the first two years in order to enable cost-effective implementation of the legal requirements. We are in discussions on this matter." Gabriele Riedmann de Trinidad, responsible for the Group business area of Energy, explained: "If Germany wants to see some 32 million households fitted with the new meters by 2020, we need to get started soon. Friedrichshafen is taking the necessary action in this regard by launching the energy network of the future. As such, it will be one of the first cities in Germany to be fully equipped with the infrastructure for the smart energy grid of the future." Switching the energy industry from fossil fuels to renewable, distributed resources presents the energy network with new challenges. The goal is to have a network that can handle these requirements automatically (smart grid). This in turn is based on the knowledge of how much energy will be fed into the network or taken from it where and when. Electronic meters deliver this base data via intelligent information and communication technology (smart metering).

About Deutsche Telekom AG Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies with more than 129 million mobile customers, 36 million fixed-network lines and more than 16 million broadband lines (as of December 31, 2010). The Group provides fixed-network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers, and ICT solutions for business and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in around 50 countries and has approximately 247,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 62.4 billion in the 2010 financial year - more than half of it outside Germany (as of December 31, 2010).

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