High-level Deutsche Telekom presence again at Metering Europe in Amsterdam in October

Sept. 13, 2012 - PRLog -- Information technology and processing will play a decisive role in tomorrow's energy industry says Gabriele Riedmann de Trinidad, head of the Group business area Energy at Deutsche Telekom.  She once again heads up a high-level delegation to the annual Metering, Billing/CRM Europe which takes place in Amsterdam from 9-11 October.  Deutsche Telekom is also a platinum sponsor for the event which will gather some 6500 utility professionals at what has become the largest industry conference and exhibition on the continent.

Consumers are becoming business partners
Says Mrs Riedmann de Trinidad:  “The energy transition is perhaps the most significant paradigm shift since the industrial revolution: consumers are becoming business partners. Instead of dealing with a few central power plants, many decentralized energy producers – who are not centrally managed or coordinated – will be impacting the market. If the energy sector continues metering in 15-minute intervals, we will have 35,000 data sets per customer each year, whereas today we have only one data set per customer.”  

She continues:  “companies that have traditionally generated and distributed energy will evolve into power distribution enterprises that require huge volumes of data. Thus, information technology and processing will play a decisive role in the energy industry.”

Mrs Riedmann de Trinidad adds:  “What kind of IT architecture will be able to handle this massive flood of data?  We recently came up with the answer to that question: Germany has passed the stress test for 50 million energy meters. We simulated the energy infrastructure of the future, still based on 15-minute meter readings, in our largest data center in Munich. All of the data was processed smoothly. And at the same time, customer care is still able to handle the request of a single customer in real time to answer and access ad-hoc data from the current consumption accessing the same data base.”

Data protection top priority at Telekom
The head of the Group business area Energy at Deutsche Telekom says data protection is a top priority at Telekom, “and it is an element of product and solution development from the very start. Since 2008 we have continually worked on a data privacy concept for smart metering – the specifics are described in a 56-page manual. For example, the guidelines state that energy data may only be communicated in encrypted form, with a signature and in safeguarded network segments only. You will probably also find these and similar requirements in the official German Protection Profile. Informational self-determination is highly valued and regarded in German law. This has an impact on many areas.”

Mrs Riedmann De Trinidad says Deutsche Telekom’s main message at Metering Europe will be that “the energy shift involves challenges and opportunities. Those who recognize the opportunities will be in a position to offer customers innovative services while generating business and value.”

Deutsche Telekom speakers at Metering, Billing/CRM Europe include:

•  From CHP to VPP - how to create value for all market roles?
  Werner Kremer, Head of Smart Grids, T-Systems

•  Cloud made in Germany: from big data handling to billing and change processes
  Rolf Mueller-Hermes, Senior Solution Consultant Energy, T-Systems

•  Prepaid as an IT solution
  Andreas Falkner, VP Operations Energy, T-Systems

•  Key lessons in building a winning partnership: insights from Deutsche Telekom
-  Progress in building the Qivicon partnership
-  Finding synergy and shared benefits in partnering
-  Partnering as the key to successfully commercialising
  Holger Knöpke, Vice President Connected Home, Deutsche Telekom

The exhibition, the largest in the industry on the continent, will gather more than 320 solution providers under one roof, with the latest utility technology on display.  

Co-located events to Metering, Billing/CRM Europe in Amsterdam from 9-11 October are Transmission & Distribution Europe as well as Smart Homes 2012.  

Event dates and location:
9-11 October 2012
Amsterdam RAI, The Netherlands

Event website:  www.metering-europe.com