E.ON and IBM Deliver Innovative Service Offerings to Customers with New Smart Energy Solutions

Smart Solutions platform addresses future energy challenges by combining integrated analytics, cloud technology and control tools to enable new business models and better customer services.

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IBM

Sep 09, 2013, 12:01 ET

ARMONK, N.Y. and EHNINGEN, Germany, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has been selected by E.ON Metering to operate its Smart Metering IT infrastructure in a private cloud. The new platform will improve the integration of renewable and decentralized energy sources, while also allowing E.ON to deliver personalized services that will put customers in better control of energy usage.

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E.ON Metering, a company of E.ON, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies, will use IBM's Intelligent Energy Service Enablement Platform (IESEP) to improve the deployment and management of smart meters, simplify the integration of renewables, and other innovative services, while at the same time maintaining a high level of customer service.

Under this agreement E.ON will migrate and host the infrastructure in a private cloud using IBM SmartCloud, at one of IBM's Data Centers in Germany. At the same time, the new platform will be upgraded with new analytics and management tools based on IBM Software that will allow E.ON to provide higher-value-added data services for customers. For example, customers will have the ability to view their usage profiles for information about time-of-use-rates and changes in use patterns that can be compared with historical data.

Additionally, the platform's scalability and low start-up and operation costs will provide the flexibility for future growth. Besides the first target markets Germany, Austria and Switzerland, both companies aim to further market the new platform jointly in other international markets.

"We now have the tools to make much more comprehensive use of the technical possibilities that smart metering opens up both for the customers and for the business," said Robert Pflugl, Managing Director, E.ON Metering GmbH. "The two companies are combining their competencies in energy management and data processing in order to offer the best solutions to the future challenges of the energy turnaround."

This collaboration is aimed at developing a new and innovative system that will lay important foundations for future business decisions and individual service offerings for E.ON customers and for the further development of business models. Yet the scalable service-oriented architecture works exclusively with standard components and also supports third party integration.

"Real-time data evaluation in a smart grid is growing increasingly important for energy enterprises due mainly to the rising use of renewable energy," said Martin Hauske, Head of the Energy Business at IBM Germany. "Continued focus on data analysis and process optimization will lead to more growth and greater efficiency in the industry."

About E.ON
Munich-based E.ON Metering is a provider of products and solutions in the field of Smart Metering, Smart Grid, Smart Home and Demand Side Management. The company's portfolio covers all relevant aspects concerning Smart Metering -- from consultation, providing and operating the devices to an individual real-time energy management. E.ON Metering is part of the E.ON Group, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. At facilities across Europe, Russia, and North America, more than 72,000 employees generated approximately EUR132 billion in sales in 2012. In addition, there are businesses in Brazil and Turkey, managed jointly with partners. E.ON's diversified business consists of renewables, conventional and decentralized power generation with almost 68 GW of generation capacity, natural gas, energy trading, retail and distribution. The Group supplies around 26 million customers with energy.

IBM and Smart Grid
IBM is involved in more than 150 smart grid engagements around the world, in both mature and emerging markets. More about IBM's vision to bring a new level of intelligence to how the world works -- how every person, business, organization, government, natural system, and man-made system interacts, can be found here: http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet

For more information about Smarter Energy at IBM, please visit: www.ibm.com/press/smarterenergy. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Contacts

Fabienne Dawson
IBM Global Media Relations
Tel: 212-671-9322
[email protected]

Dagmar Domke
IBM Communications (Europe)
Tel: +49 211 476 1913
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE IBM