Gazprom Global Energy Solutions has a diverse portfolio of services for the gas and electricity sector – what specific services are you currently offering in Russia?
Gazprom Global Energy Solutions is a global brand leader in the smart metering & smart grid sectors, offering a completely managed end to end solution for all smart metering and demand side management applications. As well as this totally integrated solution Gazprom Global Energy Solutions has developed a range of products which are being used extensively for monitoring, targeting and control purposes in primary and sub metering applications for Gas, Water and Electricity.
As a 100% owned subsidiary of Gazprom Marketing and Trading, what is your history in the Russian market place specifically?
As a group we have a rich heritage in delivering energy solutions in the Russian market. Gazprom Global Energy Solutions has more recently worked with a number of Utilities in Russia and CIS to design, engineer and deploy smart metering systems across gas, water, and electricity sectors. We have successfully deployed a number of systems in Russia and have arrangements in place with a number of Utilities to roll out smart grid systems in 2012.
The Government has announced large investment programs with the aim of developing an intelligent, or Smart Grid network in Russia. What part will Gazprom Global Energy Solutions play in this exciting future?
As a smart grid solutions provider we hope to play a key role in driving this market forward. We are working in partnership with Network Operators and Major Utilities across Russia and CIS in order to deliver best in class solution.
What benefits will smart grid technology bring to both the Utility companies in Russia, and ultimately the end user?
The smart grid market is predicated on developing the capability to contrast the demand for and supply of energy and then acting on findings, either by reducing consumption or rescheduling it. The Gazprom Global Energy Solutions suite of smart grid solutions will provide all the tools that a utility requires to enable more efficient and effective network and portfolio management. Our smart grid solution provides a Utility with detailed insight into real time consumption on the network, the system also empowers the Utility to remotely control all electricity loads on the network which in turn allows for a more effective balancing and forecasting regime and eliminates the requirement for expensive back up generation capability. There are also a number of benefits realized by the consumer by implementing smart grid systems. Firstly, the first steps in an energy management program should be to roll out smart metering as you cannot manage what you cannot measure. The consumer requires the data provided via a smart meter to understand when energy is consumed and as such start to identify inefficiencies, eliminate waste and change human behaviors. Through effective use of the smart meter system the end user should see a reduction in their energy spend.
Energy Efficiency is a hot topic in Russia – it is clear that there are huge inefficiencies in the system from the loss of heat through the heating networks, to the loss of electricity from the ageing grid network. What solutions do Gazprom Global Energy Solutions bring to help companies and individuals manage their energy use better?
We provide Utilities and Network Operators across the gas, electricity and water sectors with turnkey smart grid solutions, from design and development of smart grid hardware, firmware and communication protocol, right through to provision and installation of bespoke meter data management systems (MDM) and installer commissioning software.
In the consumer market we provide a web based M&T platform that enables consumers to analyze, benchmark and report on energy performance. This platform allows consumers to realize the value of smart metering data.
I understand you have recently attended the Smart Utilities Europe event in Amsterdam. How do you compare the Russian market to the rest of Europe, and how do you see this market developing over the next 10 years?
I first attended the smart metering Europe event 6 years ago, it was held in a hotel conferencing room in Barcelona, there were approx 200 delegates and 20 exhibitors. This year the event was held in an international conferencing arena in Amsterdam with 5000 delegates and 400 exhibitors in attendance. The smart metering market within Europe has grown immeasurable in such a short period of time, primarily driven through policy change, regulation and rising energy prices. The story boards has already been written, the Smart Utilities Russia event this year is held in a hotel conference room with 200 delegates and 20 or so exhibitors, I fully expect in 5 years time to be attending this conference with over 5000 other delegates as the interesting point to note is that in terms of size and potential the Russian market is a bigger market than the all of EU states combined.
