LG CNS wins smart grid power deal in Poland

LG CNS said yesterday that it has won a major smart grid development project worth 48 billion won ($46 million) in Poland. This is the largest smart grid project a Korean company has won in Europe.

The Korean company said it has signed an agreement with the largest power supplier in Poland, Tauron Dystrybucja S.A., to supply 330,000 units of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

AMI is an essential component in a smart grid that sends real-time information on electricity consumption to a central system.

LG CNS said it participated in the bid after forming a consortium with Danish company Eltel Networks and Polish companies Eltel Networks Olsztyn and World IT Systems.

The Korean company said starting this month the AMI will be installed in 330,000 households in Wroclaw, southwest Poland, through April 2017. Additionally, a head-end system, which analyzes data transmitted from the AMI, will be established as well.

LG CNS estimated that the AMI market in Poland is expected to grow to 1 trillion won, especially since Poland is following the EU Mandate 2020 that has set a goal of installing AMI in 80 percent of households by 2020 in an effort to conserve energy.

Under this plan, Poland plans to install AMI gradually in all of its 16 million households by 2020.

Other EU member countries are expected to install AMI starting next year. If so, the number of AMI units that will be needed is estimated at 150 million.

LG CNS has been expanding its energy business including energy management systems for buildings and energy storage systems.

“This is LG CNS’s first winning of a national smart grid project and it will act as a bridge for our company’s advance into Europe,” said Kim Ji-seop, managing director of smart grids at LG CNS. “We will do our best effort not only to speed up our entrance into Europe’s energy management market through the successful execution of this project but also to become a leading global energy company that represents Korea.”

Market research company Frost & Sullivan projected that the global smart grid market will likely post an annual growth of 28 percent, expanding the $28.9 billion market in 2011 to $125.2 billion by 2017.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]