Ignitis Lithuania smart meter rollout rescheduled

The start of Ignitis’s smart meter rollout in Lithuania is to be delayed to allow the installation of a cybersecurity infrastructure.

The state-owned company, Lithuania’s largest electricity and gas supplier, has announced that the smart meter rollout at its subsidiary Energijos skirstymo operatorius will commence in the first half of 2022 with completion by the end of 2025.

The first phase is due to cover residential customers with consumption of more than 1,000kWh annually and business customers.

Previously the rollout was due to start in Q4 of 2021 and be completed by the end of 2023.

Have you read?
Lithuania’s Ignitis Grupė secures €110 million loan for smart meters
1.2 million smart meter rollout gets go ahead in Lithuania

Despite the delay, Ignitis anticipates that there will still be 80% smart meter penetration by the end of 2023.

Ignitis said in a statement that the decision had been taken in conjunction with the smart meter supplier Sagemcom following the award of the contract in April, with the requirement to put in place a hardware and software security infrastructure prior to the smart meter deployment.

Installing this infrastructure will ensure the highest level of cybersecurity as well as information confidentiality, integrity and authorised access, said the company.

The installation of the security infrastructure also complies with the recommendations of the commission for evaluation of compliance of companies of strategic or national importance with the national security interests to avoid potential cybersecurity and related risks.

Sagemcom is due to install up to 1.2 million smart meters for Ignitis in Lithuania, which also operates in Latvia, Estonia and Poland.