In 2019, we started with the first customer references and have been able to steadily acquire new partners to date. Currently, we will be supporting enersuisse AG in Zurich up to the autumn of 2023 with our installation work in the EKZ network area of over 40,000 smart metres. enersuisse is the leading service company in the Swiss energy market.
Our mission.
It is our goal to support the Swiss energy providers with our consolidated rollout experience. cablex is the right partner for our implementation of a smart metre solution. We advise our customers individually and support them in planning and project planning. Their business is not affected during the implementation and no additional staff need to be provided.
“My experience of cablex is that they are a very committed partner, strong in implementation. We discuss all topics openly, and invariably with a focus on solutions. I greatly appreciate this professional and appreciative collaboration with the technicians and project management.”
Roger Blank, Head of Installation and Metre Reading Service, enersuisse AG
High profile of requirements.
A team of four technicians is deployed on a daily basis to meet the ambitious targets – fifteen counters per day and person in single-family homes and eighteen counters per day and person in multi-family buildings or apartment blocks. The team is composed of colleagues from the business units Customer Field Service, Telecommunications and Corporate Business.
The requirements for skills and equipment are very high. Our certified electricians and installation electricians can meet all of these requirements (EFZ certification: Swiss Certificate of Competence). The skills required include, for example, high affinity towards heavy current, logical thinking and speedy work.
The required equipment contains:
- PSA – personal protective equipment up to 17 kA short-circuit current
- EKZ legitimation card – authorisation for implementation at electricity customers
- enersuisse tablet with special software and bluetooth readout head to transmit metre readings
- Certificate and key for lift machine rooms
- Key ring for key tubes and access to the metre facilities of the respective canton
- Tools for speedy work on location (cordless screwdriver, etc.)
Broad spectrum of tasks.
Our technicians are a well-coordinated team. Each one of them is well-versed in the daily tasks for smart metre installation. The orders are transmitted directly to our colleagues’ tablets via the cablex AVOR and can thus be processed very rapidly.
Customers are notified one to two days in advance, in order to ensure access to the main distributors. Before the metre is exchanged, the main and control fuses will be removed, and absence of power checked using the measuring device. It is mandatory to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for this work, so that the face is protected in the event of an electric arc. The breeches also protect against burns through fluid metal splashes or flames.
The metre readings are transmitted via bluetooth readout head. The old electricity metres are removed and cross-section reductions installed with the new metres. The new smart metre can then be installed. Progress during installation work is transmitted via enersuisse tablet.
Each EKZ electricity meter is an officially tested measuring device. For this reason, each newly installed smart metre must be sealed after installation to protect against tampering. The number on the seal identifies the technician who installed the device.
Local logistics.
The Swisscom exchanges are usually available to our technicians as a logistics platform. These can be reached locally, so that time and costs for long travel times can be saved. The new counters as well as the returns are stored here temporarily for a short period of time. As a logistics partner, we have the company Fastlog at our disposal, who guarantees a speedy logistics process.
Last year, we were able to acquire enersuisse as a new customer and to establish ourselves in a new business area after a short training period. Thanks to the wonderful project team and their excellent service, our customers have been delighted with performance. We have also received feedback that the enersuisse customers are likewise very satisfied with our services. I would therefore like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the entire project team, which still delivers top performance every day despite the difficult circumstances due to Covid-19
Patrick Münger, project manager at cablex for the smart metre rollout in the canton of Zurich
The digitalisation of current measurement opens up completely new possibilities for end customers, as they receive, in the long-term, access to detailed information on their consumption figures via remote readout, if necessary every 15 minutes. For cablex, this service project is part of our future digital focus. We can implement our digital competence together with the right partners.
