Smart meter company Landis+Gyr announced it has been selected by the State Grid Corporation of China, the country's leading power grid operator, to supply over 10,000 commercial and industrial advanced electricity meters for upcoming deployment in six provinces.
While 10,000 is a relatively small roll-out, establishing a foothold in the Chinese market is a major breakthrough for Landis + Gyr. The total value of China’s Smart Grid market is expected to rise from US$22.3 billion in 2011 to US$61.4 billion USD in 2015, according to a recent market report.
Landis+Gyr was the only international smart meter vendor to win a contract to
supply the polyphase commercial and industrial smart meters. Twenty-five meter suppliers competed in the bidding process, widely seen
as the first phase in a larger and more ambitious country-wide
deployment.
Landis + Gyr already operates manufacturing and research and development facilities in China with more than 300 employees,
"It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of this initial contract given the State Grid Corporation of China's stated determination to build a smart grid in the areas it operates," said Oliver Iltisberger, Landis+Gyr's Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific region.
In March 2010, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for "pushing forward with building a smart grid" in an annual report to the National People's Congress.
Landis+Gyr already supplies smart meters elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand and India.
With annualized sales of more than US$1.25 billion, Landis+Gyr operates in 30 countries across five continents, and employs nearly 5,000 people.
