Areti and Wiener Netze to collaborate on grid innovation

Rome utility Areti and Vienna’s Wiener Netze have agreed to collaborate on grid innovation and digitalisation for these two historical European capital cities.

The announcement, made during the visit of Viennese municipal representatives to the historical Castro Pretorio primary substation in Rome, will see the utilities collaborating on a range of grid technology projects, including next-generation smart meters, flexibility market management and other smart grid initiatives.

Areti, a distribution company of the Acea Group, and Vienna Municipality’s Wiener Netze, are no strangers to previous collaborations but are now upping this cooperation to higher technological value.

“This agreement will allow the development of synergies between respective competencies with a view to modernising and digitising the grids in order to achieve constantly more advanced management processes for the electricity infrastructures serving the two cities,” Areti’s Managing Director Giulio Carone.

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“Experiences and technical and operational solutions will be pooled for the benefit of an even more efficient service for the residents of the two capitals.”

During the visit to the primary substation, a description was given illustrating the special features of plant and electricity grid management in a city such as Rome, characterised by the archaeological, artistic and town-planning restrictions, with the similarities with the city of Vienna.

The Castro Pretorio primary substation, for example, has revealed a wealth of archaeological finds.

In other news, as part of its ongoing activities in Rome the Acea Group has installed a new ‘water house’ in the Colosseum archaeological park.

At these residents and tourists are able to obtain free still or sparkling water and also recharge mobile devices, with their aim to encourage more responsible use of the resources and reuse of containers.