We had a talk with Mr. Tomas Llobet, managing director of ESMIG. He shared with us the values, vision, and goals of ESMIG, as well as the benefits and opportunities members get when they join the ESMIG, the European association of smart energy solution providers. We especially focused on why the representation of interests matters. As Mr. Llobet said himself: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

What are the core values of ESMIG?

Our mission is to represent the interests of smart energy solution providers which play a key role in accelerating the dual digital and green energy transition.

The value of digital technologies and solutions to empower consumers in the energy transition needs to be fully recognized. First, we need to make sure that the technology is accepted by the consumers, building trust in the technology which is deployed, such as meters being rolled out. Accelerating the roll out of smart meters in Europe is key: Some countries in Europe have rolled out smart meters to almost 100% and are now looking into a second generation roll out, while some countries are lagging and haven’t barely started yet.

Then we promote the relevance of smart meters, making sure that the technology is used to its full potential. If we look at what is possible with smart meters, we see that today that they are far from being used to their full potential. Barriers need to be removed and innovative business models of players in liberalized energy markets need to be fostered to unleash all the benefits of smart metering.

Key for the whole membership is everything that relates to data. Data access, data sharing, and the use of data are something that matters for members of the association to make the best use of smart metering. There are still barriers regarding data use making it difficult for our technology to be used to its full potential.

And, of course, when we talk about data we need to think about cyber security. While the grid needs to be secured form end to end, we also have to make sure that we don’t add layers of complexity which then limit the use cases and slow down the rollout.

Who are the members of ESMIG and what types of devices and technologies do they cover?

ESMIG was founded in the wake of the first roll out of smart meters by meter vendors. But over the years the association has grown to include other smart energy solution providers, representing a larger ecosystem. Smart metering is not only about the hardware, it’s about software, about data and using the data.

Now, about half the membership are meter vendors, and there are also service and solution providers, companies that are specialized in software, software for utilities, companies in data analytics, companies that provide IoT platforms, companies strong in cyber security, communication solution providers, etc. The whole ecosystem around smart meters and smart metering.

Do you see an interest in companies from other areas to become a member of ESMIG, what about telcos, cellular modules manufacturers, or home energy management systems?

We have innovative communication solution providers in our membership, focused on the communication aspect within the energy and smart metering ecosystem. But it is true that for the big telcos, this is only a small part of their business. Even within the IoT space, energy is not a big part of their business. That said, our membership is open to telco operators.

Regarding cellular modem manufacturers and other companies that are mostly in components production our membership also remains open for them but for many of these companies, smart meters are a smaller part of their portfolio than for example the automotive market which has been growing much more in recent years.

Finally, home energy management systems are very important. In the UK, smart meters came with home displays, which was a much better offering for consumers because they could manage and understand the consumption and see the benefits of smart meters. In the rest of Europe, this has not yet materialized. One of the benefits for the consumer is to have the home energy management device, to reach the full potential of the smart meter it should go together with the deployment of home energy management systems.

Smart metering and home energy management devices are not necessarily the same market segment, but they are closely related. We hope this area will develop in Europe in the coming years and we would welcome more companies to join in the area of home energy management systems.

What are the benefits of being an ESMIG member?

As an association, we represent the best interests of our members at European level. We are not talking about one narrowly defined segment, but a larger ecosystem. We need to make sure that everyone’s interest of this ecosystem is well represented.

ESMIG defines, articulates, and represents the interests of its members. Companies come together at ESMIG to define interests and we have working groups that help with that. It’s the members who own the association who set the objectives. As a Secretariat we facilitate the process and assist in reaching out to institutional stakeholders at the European level, the European Commission, the Parliament, energy regulators and of course also standard setting organizations. But we do not only talk to institutional stakeholders but also liaise with the larger energy sector community, including the DSOs, energy suppliers. Key partners are organizations such as E.DSO, EURELECTRIC, and other utility associations.

Advocacy work at EU level is like a long-term investment. It’s not something where you will often see immediate returns. Things don’t change from one month or one year to the other, it’s a long processes and preparing the ground takes time. We talk about policies, targets, goals, and priorities which are then translated into legislation and regulation, or standards. The influence and impact association like ESMIG has is valuable for our members but it’s not something you can put a figure on. But the truth is that when you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. That is why business representation at European level matters as most decisions affecting our industry are taken today in Brussels.

Members also benefit from receiving information through ESMIG. We monitor developments, we inform members on what is happening or will happen on regulatory issues and on standard- setting. We can foresee trends in the medium- to long-term and react.

For many of our members coming together at ESMIG as part of a community with common interests is key. Networking is valuable, too – even if the last two years were difficult as everything moved online. But 2022 will see new opportunities for members to meet among themselves, with utilities etc. Since we have companies in different segments, this is also an opportunity to work with other companies and to grow and develop the business.

Finally, there are also benefits for ESMIG members regarding events. We are present at several key conferences and industry events in Europe where we, the Secretariat, and our members are exhibiting or speaking in sessions. As a benefit for members, we can provide discounts, free tickets, speaking and presentation opportunities, etc.

What type of partnership do you have with other players, especially with utilities?

There are certain business segments, smart energy solution providers, that can join ESMIG, but the membership is not open for utilities, for example. What we do is partnering with utilities. We have good relationships with utility associations. I already mentioned the DSOs, or retailers but also with associations that are active in demand-side flexibility, electro-mobility, etc.

For us, DSOs are of course very important, they are key customers of many of our members. There are four DSO associations in Brussels, and we’re cooperating with the two largest, that’s E.DSO and EURELECTRIC but want to strengthen the relation with others, with GEODE and CEDEC. There is also a new EU DSO entity, you talked about this recently in the Smart Talks series with Roberto Zangrandi from E.DSO, a more institutionalized entity at European level which will become very important.

Energy suppliers, aggregators, electrical installers, and contractors are also key. For these service providers it is important to be able to offer custom solutions or products to their clients, the end- consumers, and to do that they must have access to metering data in real-time or near real-time.

Smart Energy Europe (SmartEn) is also an important partner for us. They are a leading voice on demand-side flexibility (DSF). We’re also cooperating with them on issues regarding data exchange and sharing; we’ve co-signed various papers and organized joint events with them.

TSOs are also important partners for us and we have relationships and discussions with them, especially on cyber security.

Then there are standardization associations. We’re working closely and cooperating with DLMS, for example. We have common members, and we’re partners with them.

You mentioned EURELECTRIC and SmartEn. What is the difference between these two organizations and your cooperation with them?

These organizations are different. EURELECTRIC is the big voice of the electricity sector in Europe. They don’t represent the interest of TSOs anymore, for example, but represent retailers, DSOs and generators. EURELECTIC is an association of national associations.

SmartEn is like ESMIG and association which has companies as direct members, but they also have utilities, next to innovative technology and solution providers, but also smaller associations as members.

Basically, there are different members in each organization. We have different projects where we work together with these organizations.

Conclusion

The ESMIG members have the benefit of being represented in front of the institutional stakeholders at the European level where the policies, targets, goals, and priorities are discussed and then translated into legislation and regulation.
Telecommunications companies and home display devices (HDD) manufacturers are at present not members, due to slow market development that didn’t live up to their expectations. HDDs are massively installed only in the UK, and PLC networks are much more used for communication compared to mobile telephony infrastructure.

Question for the audience

Is it necessary to involve telecommunication companies and home energy management systems manufacturers much more for the further development of smart cities?