Hera is preparing to install NexMeter, the new 4.0 gas meter presented a few weeks ago at the European Utility Week 2019 in Paris, the most important trade fair in the sector.
The first to adopt the new NexMeter will be the citizens of Ferrara, where 2020 devices will be installed within the first half of 6.000. Installations in the city of Este will continue in the second half of next year, and will be joined by those planned for Modena and Udine. The goal is to place 300.000 units by the end of the three-year period. For the implementation of the plan, Hera has already allocated 45 million euro.
NexMeter is a mini computer “that surpasses the properties of other devices on the market today. It is equipped with advanced technology – for the first time already enclosed within the device itself and based on algorithms, sensors and ultrasounds – with features of absolute precision, capable of offering advanced safety functions, an aspect of fundamental importance in gas service”, explains Hera in a note.
The meter is equipped with monitoring and warning devices which will be active at the end of the experimental phase and will make it possible to prevent accidents, providing greater protection to buildings and citizens, along the lines of the functioning of electrical "life-saving" devices. In addition to sending ordinary and periodic reports on consumption, in the event of emergencies, NexMeter will be able to immediately contact the Group's centralized remote control in Forlì which monitors the multi-utility's networks and systems throughout the country in real time. In turn, the remote control, if it has a certain address of the user, will send him an alert.
NexMeter is able to intercept and report gas leaks and promotes an intelligent use of energy and favoring a rational use of environmental resources.
Its characteristics "fit into the lines of action identified in the 2019-2021 strategic framework of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment (ARERA)", explains Hera again.
“With NexMeter – says CEO Stefano Venier – we bring a breath of innovation to a business, that of gas distribution, which is still very traditional. To best develop it, we have combined our extensive experience in the gas distribution sector with the skills of the most qualified partners at national and international level. After all, innovation represents one of the priorities of our strategy, supported by an important economic commitment, for over 380 million euros over the 5 years of our latest industrial plan”.
