Rome, Italy --- (METERING.COM) --- February 7, 2012 - Enel’s GRID4EU smart grid pilot in the province of Forlì-Cesena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy is now entering the operational phase, the company has announced.

The pilot, one of the six large scale smart grid demonstrations being implemented under the GRID4EU initiative, has a budget of €8.2 million and is focused on the integration of renewable energies to the grid using advanced control systems.

Project partners include the research organization Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico (Rse), Siemens, Cisco, and the transmission and automation solution provider Selta.

GRID4EU is one of Europe’s largest smart grid initiatives with a budget of €54 million, of which €25 million is funded from the European Commission and the rest from industry. In addition to Enel, which is also providing the technical direction, other pilot projects are being implemented by ERDF in France, RWE in Germany, Vattenfall in Sweden, Iberdrola in Spain, and CEZ in the Czech Republic.

GRID4EU involves 27 partners from 12 countries and is being coordinated by ERDF. Cooperation is expected and the results will be fully shared between the partners.