SSE, Britain’s second largest energy supplier, has awarded Logica, a leading business and technology service company, a contract for the provision of communication, data and pre-payment services for residential smart meter system trials in Great Britain.

The companies will work together to deliver the benefits of smart metering systems to SSE’s customers ahead of the mandated mass market roll-out of smart metering to domestic customers in Great Britain. This is currently expected to start in 2014, when the new Data Communications Company is available for use by the energy industry.

SSE will procure, install and maintain the smart metering systems on behalf of its customers, and Logica will deliver the communications, data and pre-payment support on behalf of SSE.

Logica supports, through its Smart Data Services and award winning Instant Energy product, over 85 percent of smart meters installed in people’s homes across Britain. We have supported the installation of over 25,000 new smart meters per month. This agreement with SSE will further increase this figure, strengthening Logica’s position in the British smart metering market.

Craig Boundy, UK CEO, Logica, explains; “Smart Meters don’t just empower consumers to change their relationship with energy, they are integral to the creation of smart grids, creating a vital infrastructure that will enable Britain to satisfy our energy needs more sustainably, whilst helping to keep energy affordable. This contract will enhance SSE’s ability to effectively engage with its customers about their energy consumption by using the two-way communication capabilities provided by smart meters. This contract award also helps Logica to consolidate our position at the heart of Britain’s smart energy market.”