On February 2nd local time, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Saudi Arabia smart meter project and the launch of the first meter by State Grid China Electric Power Technology Equipment Co., Ltd. was jointly held at the headquarters of Saudi Electricity Company in Riyadh, Mecca, Medina, and Abaha projects.
Mr. Fahd, CEO of Saudi Electricity Company, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. Mr. Khalid, Vice President, and Mr. Shad, General Manager of the Distribution Department, also attended the ceremony.
Under the joint witness of leaders from the headquarters and various branches of Saudi Electricity Company, as well as representatives from participating units, the on-site project department of China Electric Equipment Company completed the replacement of the first local smart meter and the installation of concentrators in the western cities of Mecca, Medina, and the southern city of Abaha in accordance with professional standardized operating procedures. At 1:30 pm, the on-site team conducted online docking with the HES head end system (electric energy information collection and management system) team located in Riyadh. Successfully debugged in a short period of time. At 1:40 pm, three electricity meters completed data point reading one after another and successfully went online as planned.
Fahd highly recognized the efficient work of China Electric Equipment Company and the technical standards and services of the State Grid's "Electricity Information Collection System" in his speech. He stated that the launch of the first smart meter in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia marks another milestone achievement in the cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia in the field of electricity and energy. Saudi Arabia will strongly support the follow-up implementation of the project, promote the sustainable development of cooperation in the field of electricity services between the two countries, and better benefit the Saudi people.
Since the project was signed on December 19, 2019, China Electric Equipment Company has strictly fulfilled its obligations, carefully organized, planned, and overcome difficulties. Within one month, it has completed the procurement, joint debugging, and domestic and international transportation of smart meters, creating an impressive "Chinese speed". The ceremony coincided with the special period of the Chinese New Year and the fight against the epidemic of novel coronavirus pneumonia. All the domestic and foreign teams of the Project Department gave up their holidays, and together with the participating units, they overcame many difficulties, effectively deployed and promoted various tasks, and achieved a milestone node goal on schedule, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of subsequent projects.