The recently signed agreement under which IT giant IBM will install a new utility metering system in Malta has generated international interest, even featuring on the front page of the IBM website (www.ibm.com/us/en).
The €70 million project will introduce a new billing system, new smart meters that carry our remote readings, different rates for consumption at different times of the day; and tools to detect technical and non-technical losses like theft. It constitutes one of the largest, if not the largest, ICT-driven business transformation investment that will have been undertaken by the Maltese government. For the past few days, IBM has been using Malta to promote its so-called smart grid technology solutions for better and greener management of resources thanks to ICT.
The screen-wide photo of the Grand Harbour set the background to IBM's message on its frontpage: "A new solution will position Malta as the world leader in smarter, sustainable energy". More photos of the Grand Harbour are used on inside web pages.
The announcement caught the attention of several international publications such as the Financial Times, Business Week, InfoWorld and SmartMeters.com
Samuel Palmisano, in an opinion piece on Financial Times online, said: "Getting smarter is possible across all our systems. The island of Malta, for example, is not only
creating one of the world's most advanced smart grids, it is also building smarter water and waste management systems. The same principles apply to all of these systems, including instrumentation with advanced sensor technology. As a result they are gaining a better understanding of demand, supply, routing and sourcing. They are able to manage the entire public services infrastructure more dynamically."
BusinessWeek linked Malta's case to the initiatives being taken by the Obama administration to kickstart the American economy with infrastructural projects.
SmartMeters.com commented that "IBM already has a major presence in numerous smart meter research efforts and pilot projects around the world. The IT giant now will bring smart electric and water meters to Malta in a big way... Even though the Malta project may be a small fish for IBM to fry compared to the huge market in the United States, the effort will certainly be appreciated by the Maltese government. Malta has very limited sources of domestic power and fresh water".
The Maltese government's choice of IBM seems to have influenced by the company's commitment to developing the smart grid.
InfoWorld describes how "Energy is the life-blood of commerce. The smart grid - an intelligent electricity-delivery system drawing significant interest from the US government, venture capital investors, start-up companies, and established tech giants, including IBM, Cisco, GE, and Google - promises to make that energy flow more freely, more reliably, more efficiently, and at lower costs to both consumers and businesses".
Ted Samson, the author of the article, then goes on to cite Malta's example and give more details how other companies such as Google and Cisco are working on smart grid technology. Google recently launched its PowerMeter, a tool designed to show consumers their home energy information in nearly real time, on their computer. Cisco recently awarded $250,000 to two German computer science students and a Russian engineer who proposed an IP framework that would allow devices to ask for power from the grid only when they need it, rather than passively consuming whatever is sent over.
The €70 million project will introduce a new billing system, new smart meters that carry our remote readings, different rates for consumption at different times of the day; and tools to detect technical and non-technical losses like theft. It constitutes one of the largest, if not the largest, ICT-driven business transformation investment that will have been undertaken by the Maltese government. For the past few days, IBM has been using Malta to promote its so-called smart grid technology solutions for better and greener management of resources thanks to ICT.
The screen-wide photo of the Grand Harbour set the background to IBM's message on its frontpage: "A new solution will position Malta as the world leader in smarter, sustainable energy". More photos of the Grand Harbour are used on inside web pages.
The announcement caught the attention of several international publications such as the Financial Times, Business Week, InfoWorld and SmartMeters.com
Samuel Palmisano, in an opinion piece on Financial Times online, said: "Getting smarter is possible across all our systems. The island of Malta, for example, is not only
creating one of the world's most advanced smart grids, it is also building smarter water and waste management systems. The same principles apply to all of these systems, including instrumentation with advanced sensor technology. As a result they are gaining a better understanding of demand, supply, routing and sourcing. They are able to manage the entire public services infrastructure more dynamically."
BusinessWeek linked Malta's case to the initiatives being taken by the Obama administration to kickstart the American economy with infrastructural projects.
SmartMeters.com commented that "IBM already has a major presence in numerous smart meter research efforts and pilot projects around the world. The IT giant now will bring smart electric and water meters to Malta in a big way... Even though the Malta project may be a small fish for IBM to fry compared to the huge market in the United States, the effort will certainly be appreciated by the Maltese government. Malta has very limited sources of domestic power and fresh water".
The Maltese government's choice of IBM seems to have influenced by the company's commitment to developing the smart grid.
InfoWorld describes how "Energy is the life-blood of commerce. The smart grid - an intelligent electricity-delivery system drawing significant interest from the US government, venture capital investors, start-up companies, and established tech giants, including IBM, Cisco, GE, and Google - promises to make that energy flow more freely, more reliably, more efficiently, and at lower costs to both consumers and businesses".
Ted Samson, the author of the article, then goes on to cite Malta's example and give more details how other companies such as Google and Cisco are working on smart grid technology. Google recently launched its PowerMeter, a tool designed to show consumers their home energy information in nearly real time, on their computer. Cisco recently awarded $250,000 to two German computer science students and a Russian engineer who proposed an IP framework that would allow devices to ask for power from the grid only when they need it, rather than passively consuming whatever is sent over.