CG announces new smart meter facility in France

Paris - Avantha Group Company CG will be opening a new facility in Grenoble to produce, test and calibrate over 2 million ZIV smart meters per year.

CG has chosen Grenoble to open this new facility, so as to cover the demand for Linky meters in France, and thereby provide local support to ERDF. The company recently won an order from ERDF to participate in the supply of three million Linky smart meters, in the first phase of its 35 million unit rollout plan for 2021.

This facility will house the Centre of Excellence for G3-PLC technology, be fully equipped to manufacture ZIV single and three phase Linky G1 and G3 meters, and will be ready to produce the first units by the second quarter of 2015. CG will also contribute to the creation of sustainable local employment, as this centre will make available, around 200 direct and indirect jobs in the area, once full production capacity is reached.

The Grenoble manufacturing facility, together with the existing facilities in Spain, will enable CG to face new challenges from large-scale deployments in France, UK, Spain, the Netherlands and other countries in the area with greater agility. Europe`s smart metering market is expected to grow sharply and hit 180 million units by 2020. The overall Distribution Automation market in Europe is expected to reach over 800 M$ by 2018. CG`s ZIV smart meters are gaining a strategic position in the Smart Grid European market where it has achieved key wins in 2014.

According to ERDF, the Linky program is a major industrial program that will create 10,000 jobs in France. By modernizing the distribution grid, this program will be beneficial to consumers by enabling them to better understand their electricity bills and reduce consumption, thereby preserve the environment by means of a more efficient grid management.

CG, after acquiring ZIV, has become a key provider of smart meters and an important player in the global smart grid market where it offers ZIV meters, data concentrator units (DCUs) and distribution automation solutions (DAS). The company has built its competitive strategy in the development of smart grid solutions under the ZIV brand, based on its own technology, and a unique mix of technical knowhow in protection, control, communications and metering technologies. Furthermore, CG has broadened the coverage of its smart grid portfolio with an ambitious catalogue of Distribution Automation Solutions that range from LV supervision to MV automation, including Overhead MV Line Automation, Compact Secondary Substations and Micro-grid Management and Electric Vehicle Charging Systems.

Ms Muriel PENICAUD, Chairman & CEO of the Invest in France Agency (AFII) said, "I am glad our Paris and New Delhi teams supported CG in their investment program. CG`s smart grid project in Grenoble is of strategic scale, it further endorses the expertise of France in the electric field. France ranks second worldwide for the quality of its electricity, availability and access. It also highlights the attractiveness of the French territory for collaborative, innovative and industrial projects, and places France as a

Source: IWR Online, 21 Nov 2014