With the environment high on the Irish and Global agenda, energy efficiency has become a big priority for government, business and consumer alike. O2 M2M solutions can play a role in helping utilities meet customers' needs, through the various areas highlighted below.

Smart metering

Smart meters show a huge potential for M2M technology. Smart metering is a generic term for intelligent metering services based on two-way data communication. They provide data transmission between the home and the utility and can enable customers to control their spend by providing real time transparency on energy they are consuming. The benefits of Smart metering include:

Remote meter reading - an application to both enhance energy efficiency and customer satisfaction. Remote meter reading may be applied to the automated collection of electricity, gas, heat or water readings. Since actual consumption data is recorded, it eliminates the practice of utilities deploying estimated consumption, often a cause of dissatisfaction for absentee customers.

Enhanced customer relationship management - enabled due to a direct communication link to the meter facilitating customer service processes such as supplier change, fraud detection and connection management.

Demand-side management - this is aimed at improving the overall efficiency of the energy system by reducing power consumption and redistributing loads from peak to off-peak hours enabled by permitting the consumer to control their energy intake.

Real-time pricing - more flexible energy pricing based on the real-time supply and demand.

Further advances are being made in this field to allow intelligent control systems manage energy consumption and eliminate human error or oversight. O2 is involved in this area through partnerships with energy management firms and is happy to discuss this area to support your needs. Watch this space for further developments.