Filenews 18 May 2023 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
The people of EAC experienced a pleasant surprise yesterday when they were informed that the long adventure with the tender for the supply and installation of 400,000 smart meters ended suddenly, following the withdrawal of the appeal filed with the Tender Review Authority by the unsuccessful bidder, the Chinese NINGBO SANXING SMART ELECTRIC.
This development avoids causing additional delay in the examination of the appeal and allows EAC to proceed swiftly with the successful bidder (NewCytech Business Solutions Ltd, Logicom Group) the execution of the tender and the commencement of the procurement and installation of the first batch of smart meters.
The tender was announced in 2021 but its award went through shocks, as EAC's decisions were followed by successful appeals by companies to the Tender Review Authority for annulment of the decisions.
The last decision of EAC to award the tender was taken last April in favour of NewCytech, but on 13/4/23 a new appeal was filed by the Chinese Ningbo, which requested the annulment of the decision and the adoption of prohibitive measures against EAC, so that the Authority does not cause faits accomplis in relation to the meters before the examination of the case is completed. EAC did not object to this request in an attempt to prevent longer proceedings before the Reviewing Authority.
While everyone expected that on June 1st the hearing of the appeal would begin, yesterday the Reviewing Authority issued a decision announcing that the Chinese Ningbo withdrew its offer and thus paves the way for the cooperation of EAC and NewCytech to proceed.
According to the Review Authority, on 12/5/2023, the lawyer of the Chinese company in a letter informed the other parties that her client does not wish to proceed with the appeal and requests that he withdraw. This was finalized yesterday with a relevant decision by the Revision.
130,000 meters per year
Based on the planning submitted by EAC to Parliament, during the discussion of its budget for 2023, it will implement a three-year program for the installation of 400,000 smart meters, under CERA's regulatory decision, in 2018. The Authority's intention is to install about 130,2023 meters per year, but given that a five-month period has gone unused, the number of meters installed this year is likely to be below that level.
What will they offer?
According to CERA's relevant regulatory decision, smart meters will help to:
◗ They will allow electricity transmission and distribution operators to intervene in photovoltaic systems for remote control and retrieval of data and measurements of power and energy produced. This is considered very important for the safety and stability of the electrical system.
◗ Reliable electricity demand and load forecast.
◗ Network analysis using the recovered data.
◗ Electricity load and demand management.
◗ Optimization of operation in the distribution network.
◗ Support network studies.
◗ Optimization of the forecast of the power produced by RES, every half hour of the next day.
◗ Maximizing RES penetration.
◗ Alternative/management for the Ripple Control System.
◗ Reduction of network losses.
◗ Facilitate fault detection and consequently faster restoration of supply.
◗ Remote interruption of power supply to bad payers.
◗ Measurement reading in inaccessible and remote places.
◗ Support remote connections/disconnections and support input/export measurements.
