News | 02.06.2020

Visionary pilot project

Broadband Networks supports a pilot project for the partners of Energie Zukunft Schweiz (EZS), all of whom are small and medium-sized Swiss energy suppliers. The aim is to explore the potential of new, innovative products and services for end customers and energy suppliers and to position the utilities as competent partners in energy matters, now and in the future.

Challenges in the Swiss energy market

Energy suppliers in Switzerland are facing major challenges. Their product is interchangeable, the recognition value of their company is not particularly high, and overall margins in the energy sector are diminishing.  In addition, the industry has long been threatened by a market liberalization that would result in an elimination of the previously regulated allocation of suppliers and small customers and thus one of the most important sources of income for large customer groups. New market models, such as the pooling for own consumption (ZEV) as well as areal and district solutions, already enable small consumers with less than 100,000 kWh to stock up on energy and energy services on the free market, and are thus lost to the utility companies.

Against this background, EZS is evaluating a variety of energy management systems that will enable its partner utilities to open up new business areas in the future and ideally lead to an increase in the efficiency of their existing and future processes. 

Tailor-made installations and support 

"We are pleased that we have been able to set up a pilot project together with Broadband Networks in the shortest possible time. With their deep understanding of the Swiss Energy Market, Broadband Networks supports us with their vast know-how in information and communication technology and the various device interfaces," says Georg Meier, Deputy Managing Director and Head of the Renewable Energy Division at EZS. 


To respond to the most diverse technical conditions of the customers' plants and the individual requirements of the EZS partner utilities, Broadband Networks must provide a high degree of flexibility. Broadband Networks also assumes full responsibility for technical planning, coordination with the installation partners, and commissioning to ensure the end-to-end functionality of the connected pilot plants. "Our top priority is ensuring fully functional pilot systems by taking individual requirements and technical peculiarities of a wide range of own consumption systems into account when integrating them into an energy platform. In this way, we can optimally support EZS in demonstrating the advantages and opportunities of an intelligent energy management system and analyze the various applications in practice," adds Alexander Wirth, Team Leader Energy Solutions at Broadband Networks.