Glasgow, U.K. --- (METERING.COM) --- January 28, 2010 - ScottishPower has announced that it is set to embark on a pioneering project with the ambition of completely revolutionizing the electricity network in Glasgow by developing the U.K.’s largest smart grid.

As part of the Clyde Gateway project, a regeneration scheme in the east end of Glasgow, ScottishPower is already developing a localized smart grid proposal where next generation technology is being developed and trials are being carried out.

The company has set up a dedicated team of engineers to work on the concept, using its own investment as well as seeking funds from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the energy regulator Ofgem, through an application for £6 million from the Low Carbon Investment Fund. The ambition is to demonstrate the latest smart grid technology and use the learning to develop proposals for wider and larger scale smart grid applications across Glasgow and the company’s U.K. operations.
 
“A smart grid requires the application of new intelligent technology to the existing electricity network so that its operation can be optimized for the twenty first century,” said Frank Mitchell, director of ScottishPower Energy Networks. “The reality of this technology and the benefits it will offer to customers is not far away. The work we are doing on the Clyde Gateway project and across Glasgow will see the development of smart grids taking significant strides forward.”

ScottishPower has also announced that it plans to increase its trials of smart meters, which will be an essential part of the smart grid concept. The company has had smart meters under test in just under 1,000 homes for the past two years, and now intends to instal up to a further 100,000 smart meters over the next two years, before the full U.K. rollout begins in 2012. Ultimately the U.K. is aiming to develop full smart grid capabilities over the next two decades, but the project in Glasgow gives ScottishPower the opportunity to develop the largest in the U.K. to begin with.

The company is planning to work with a range of academics and public bodies in order to deliver the project in Glasgow.