The European Investment Bank (EIB) has offered a €110m loan for the to install smart meters and implement IT solutions in Lithuania.
The loan agreement has been signed with Lithuanian energy company Ignitis Group.
Ignitis Group will utilise the loan amount to install smart meters and deploy IT solutions for data collection and management with Energijos skirstymo operatorius (ESO), an electricity and gas distribution company in Lithuania.
The project will involve the replacement of existing electromechanical meters with smart meters.
The operation will replace nearly two-thirds of all the installed meters currently installed in Lithuania.
EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros said: “This operation gives an important signal about the energy market in the Baltics, namely that investments are shifting from a focus on security of supply towards energy efficiency.
“This is good news and very important in terms of our collective commitment to the Paris Agreement. Climate change won’t stop if we don’t act, and in that context every initiative to limit our energy consumption is a big help.”
ESO to install 1.2 million units of smart meters by end-2023
The deployment of smart meters, which is expected to result in energy savings for the consumers, is expected to begin from next year.
During the first stage of the deployment, ESO plans to install nearly 1.2 million units of smart meters in the country by the end of 2023.
The second stage of the smart meter installation is scheduled to begin in 2024.
Lithuania adopted the revised National Energy Independence Strategy in June 2018 and the smart meter deployment is part of it.
The ESB is planning to install 2.4 million smart meters at homes, farms and businesses in Ireland by the end of 2024.
