Global smart metering solutions provider, EDMI, has bolstered its leading position in the smart metering market via a strong response to growing customer interest in smarter energy management. Building on its already strong foundation, EDMI has successfully accessed new revenue streams by delivering more value across the retail, industrial, commercial and new energy segments.
ALIGNING WITH GLOBAL SMART ENERGY IDEOLOGIES
With a growing global appreciation of the value of energy among customers and energy investors alike – rising in tandem with higher consumption – utility providers around the world are looking for smarter ways to monitor usage patterns and pass more control onto the consumers.
A year-on from our last interview with EDMI, and with smarter energy management solutions representing a key talking point at November 2015’s COP21 Climate Conference in Paris, customers are becoming more educated in energy efficiency every day and are similarly turning their attention to utility suppliers for a cost-saving solution. EDMI has deployed 40 percent of its smart meters to the high voltage users in the transmission, distribution, and commercial & industrial (C&I) markets. The Company has become an integral part of the future of the world’s energy infrastructure market via a series of strategic partnerships and collaborations.
“Evolving into the software space has very much been in reaction to customer demands,” says Chief Operating Officer (COO), How New Seng. “We are exploring the ways that EDMI can tap into this market and further enhance our offering to convert consumers towards a smarter future.”
EDMI’s latest strategy will see the Company focus on rolling out its smart energy software solutions, paying close attention to its deployment in the UK and Australia, where government initiatives are also capitalising on the smart trend.
AUSTRALIA
In 2015, EDMI’s Australasian business reached a historic milestone agreement for the supply of EDMI Energy Cloud software and related services to Active Stream, an Australian metering services business and wholly-owned subsidiary of AGL Energy Limited. The agreement has cemented EDMI’s already strong presence in the country, where the Company was founded more than thirty years ago.
How New Seng explains: “The five-year deal was the first agreement signed in response to the Power of Choice regulatory changes in Australia, and will see our cloud software used to help the country overcome some of its key energy consumption issues through a range of new solutions that place more choice in the hands of the consumer; while allowing plenty of room for us to continue to innovate the cloud software platform in the future.”
Leveraging its technically-skilled teams and collaboration with likeminded partners, EDMI’s Energy Cloud solution demonstrates the Company’s continued understanding and compliance to the requirements set out by governments and various industries; while supporting its ability to adapt the software to individual markets such as Australia.
“The Power of Choice reforms will engender a more competitive market structure, encouraging the development of new products and services. While this provides additional challenges for new players entering the market, EDMI’s past success in competitive markets internationally gives us confidence that it will play a key role in Australia’s smart energy management solutions,” he further details.
UNITED KINGDOM
EDMI’s movements in the UK market are very much driven by the Government’s target to install smart meters in every home by 2020. By this time, the aim is to have around 53 million smart meters fitted in approximately 30 million premises’ in Great Britain.
“Being a part of the UK’s biggest national infrastructure project is a privilege and throughout the course of our investments here in the past few years, we have worked in partnership with many companies who share synergies with EDMI and understand the forward-looking, value-add services needed to stand above the competition,” How New Seng highlights.
“We have used a number of companies who are supporting us along the way, assisting with the delivery of a standalone communications metering platform that embraces the next generation of smart meters, resulting in a more stable software architecture ensuring reliability for our clients,” he further adds.
In addition to its communication focus in the UK, EDMI is on-track with its dual fuel model and delivery of a communications hub as part of the smart meter rollout.
“Capitalising on the opportunities in the UK market over the past five years or so has been very exciting for us, given that we are a Singapore-based Company, and has served to increase the EDMI footprint,” How New Seng highlights.
REINVESTMENT
Confident that a move to further engage customers with products and services is the next step, EDMI’s end-to-end Energy Cloud solutions, including meters, communications and AMI systems have been well-received globally. Having already deployed six million IEC-standard smart meters around the world, EDMI is looking to expand its customer base among the more than 60 countries operating on IEC standards globally.
“Keeping our finger on the pulse is only possible through our continual investment in, and dedication to, R&D, which fuels our strategic decisions in each market that we operate globally,” comments How New Seng. “For example, we released a new meter last year which further improves the overall accuracy levels of our consumption data. We are also working on ways to make our metering solutions more compact.”
It was this dedication to advanced technologies that resulted in EDMI winning the Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year Award in the Singapore Smart Meters Industry in 2015.
The COO adds: “Essentially, it is about being able to be the best at tailoring a product to market needs by leveraging our own proven capabilities and experience globally to customise our solutions for each market and present them with cost-effective pricing.”
ASIA-PACIFIC AND BEYOND
A year ago in native Singapore, EDMI was in the process of installing 45,000 smart meters for the prestigious Singapore Power; a figure that has since been increased by a further 7,000, on its way to the Company’s goal to deliver 62,500.
“We will continue to participate in the residential market as part of a long-term strategy that will see us further collaborate with other energy companies to bring the best smart energy solutions to our home market,” says How New Seng.
Similarly, EDMI hopes to utilise this model to explore opportunities across the residential sector in the Asia-Pacific region and in Africa. “These are big markets that we must investigate. In order to access these markets, it is critical to align our business with the cultural differences and differing requirements to find the appropriate route to market and provide the best solution to our customers’ needs,” he explains.
Backed by the strength of its international investors, EDMI has the flexibility in its business model to access the energy markets in these countries and continue on its growth path.
The COO concludes: “Year-on-year, we continue to invest in research and development to make sure that our solution remains as relevant as possible in each market. Our ability to adapt has been well-received, with a good vote of confidence from our customers globally.”
