Light and Landis+Gyr unveil largest smart grid partnership in South America

-- R$ 750 million contract to improve the efficiency and reliability of Rio de Janeiro state grid

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Brazilian electricity utility Light today announced the formal agreement of the largest smart grid project in South American history, in partnership with global energy management pioneer Landis+Gyr. Valued at approximately R$750 million ($313 million USD), the five year contract covers the supply, implementation, operation and maintenance of Landis+Gyr's best in class Gridstream® smart grid solution. The collaboration also includes deployment of 1.1 million endpoints, comprised of advance SGP+M anti-tampering meters and automation of power vaults and reclosers.

With over R$ 400 million investment in its distribution system last year alone, the contract is part of Light's ongoing effort to improve the efficiency and reliability of its electricity grid. The new intelligent, Gridstream® network offers improved measurement and automated management functions on a single secure platform, and will also facilitate adoption of electric vehicles and wind and solar micro-generation technologies.

As a result of the project Light will be able to take advantage of enhanced monitoring and control points throughout its network, helping to reduce commercial losses. In the future the utility also hopes to provide its customers with greater pricing options and more information on their energy consumption patterns, helping them to manage their usage more efficiently.

"The goal of Light is to provide an intelligent electricity network to 1.6 million consumers, equivalent to around 40% of our total customer by 2018," said Paulo Roberto Pinto, President of Light.

Marcelo Machado, General Director of Landis+Gyr South America said, "As the first major South American deployment of a smart grid and smart metering system this is a landmark announcement, which will demonstrate to utilities and consumers firsthand the tangible cost, safety and user-experience benefits that come with smart energy.

"We are delighted to be partnering with a company of the caliber of Light on a project that we believe will be groundbreaking for the Brazilian energy industry," stated Machado. "This is the first step in an ambitious expansion plan to grow Landis+Gyr's reach across South America."

Having manufactured meters in Brazil since 1994, Landis+Gyr today employs more than 450 people at a state of the art facility in Curitiba. The business already has the capacity to produce over 3 million meters a year on-site and plans to substantially expand its operations as the South American smart grid market develops.

The partnership with Light is the latest in a string of major contract wins for Landis+Gyr. Since the start of 2013 the company has secured the two largest deployments in industry history with British Gas and Tokyo Electric Power Company, also signing major contracts with Salt River Project, Ameren and most recently, ERDF's Linky deployment project. Frost & Sullivan's latest research determined that Landis+Gyr had 44% of the 2013 global AMI meter market, excluding China.

Andreas Umbach President and CEO of Landis+Gyr commented, "Our partnership with Light is hugely significant for Landis+Gyr and caps an extremely positive eighteen months for the business. In that time we have won major contracts in Europe, North America, Asia and now South America, including the two largest deployments in industry history. We are extremely proud of the trust and confidence utilities around the world continue to place in Landis+Gyr." 

About Landis+Gyr:

Landis+Gyr is the leading global provider of product management integrated energy and specially developed to meet the needs of energy companies, and the only one with the ability to provide advanced metering solutions.

Today, the company offers the broadest portfolio of products and services in the electricity metering industry, and is paving the way for the next generation of smart grid. With annual sales of over $ 1.5 billion, Landis+Gyr, Toshiba Corporation (TKY: 6502) with a 40% share of the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, has a platform-independent growth, with operations in 30 countries on five continents, hiring 5,500 people with the sole mission of helping the world manage energy better.

About Light:

Light is present in 31 municipalities of the state of Rio de Janeiro and has more than four million customers. With over a century of operation, Light is part of the life of Rio de Janeiro, and monitors and provides products and services essential to the economic, social and cultural development of the locations where it operates.