BrazilSTEG selects Sia Partners and Talan for smart metering program
Tunisia’s national electricity company STEG has selected Sia Partners and Talan as its consulting partners for the first phase of its multi-year smart metering rollout across the country.
With the aim to modernise its energy infrastructure and prepare the country for the energy transition, the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) has launched a 5+ year program to roll out smart metering across the country.
A smart meter is a device that can automatically track the usage of gas and electricity. For consumers, it brings the benefits of not having to send meter readings to energy suppliers and it gives better insight into consumption. For energy utility companies, it boosts efficiency of operations (lower service costs and uncollected debts) and enables more effective planning and infrastructure management.
Over the course of the smart metering program, STEG aims to install nearly 5 million low-voltage smart meters and 1 million low-voltage gas meters. The first phase of the program – which runs from 2025 and 2029 – aims to smart metering infrastructure for 450,000 electricity customers (around 10% of the total number of customers) and 150,000 natural gas customers.
At the same time, the first phase will work on installing nearly 20,000 high voltage smart electricity meters at major consumers of electrical energy – mostly businesses in the industrial, service and agricultural sectors.
The installation of the smart meters is backed by a large IT and business transformation within STEG, including the revamp of its customer care and billing system, the implementation of GIS (geographic information system), and investments in technology infrastructure.
Partners
In realising the goals of the program, STEF is working closely with partners including EDF (a French energy conglomerate) and GRDF (a French natural gas company), supported by a consulting team spearheaded by Sia Partners (management consultancy and Talan (IT consultancy).
Commenting on the firm’s involvement, Camille Marzuoli, a partner in Sia Partners’ Energy, Resources & Utilities practice, said: “Sia Partners has been a major consulting partner of STEG since 2018, supporting the early stages and framing of STEG’s smart metering deployment. We are delighted to continue our involvement and support the initial phase of deployment.”
“This work reaffirms Sia Partners commitment to supporting our clients throughout the energy transition, and our renowned international expertise in smart grids, but also the wider energy and utilities sector.”
The contract with Sia Partners is worth €5,5 million over a four-year period. Fellow Paris-headquartered Talan has not disclosed the size of its contract.
In an interview with one of Tunisia’s main TV channels, Mounir Ghabri, the Director of Cooperation and Communication at STEG, emphasized the strategic importance of the program. “This global transformation is a major step in the modernization of the energy market and networks of Tunisia, and a key lever to accelerate the energy transition.”
