Alliander acquires stake in Plugwise

Fri, 2010-12-24 16:47

Alliander has acquired an 8.5 per cent stake in Plugwise Holding BV. Peter Molengraaf, chairman of Alliander’s Management Board, and Norbert Vroege, Managing Director of Plugwise, today signed the share transfer agreement. Plugwise designs and manufactures energy management and appliance control systems, which will play an important role in the energy supply of the future.

Alliander is seeking to achieve a more sustainable energy supply, while also maintaining its reliability and affordability. It will be helped in this respect by Plugwise’s innovative technology, which offers great promise for the future. In the longer term this investment is, therefore, better and more sustainable than laying yet more cables under the ground.

The way in which energy is supplied in the Netherlands will change over the coming decades, with increasing numbers of relatively small, decentralised production units generating energy from renewable sources. At the same time, demand for electricity is set to rise as a result, for example, of the introduction of electric cars. Energy flows in the network will also change substantially, demanding adaptations in existing infrastructure and also in the infrastructure to be put in place over the next few years. Managing the energy needs of both clients and the grid managers’ low-voltage networks will play an important role in this respect.

Plugwise designs and manufactures systems that provide consumers and businesses with detailed information on their energy consumption. This enables them to lower their energy bills. Apart from its use in energy management and appliance control systems, the same technology also enables the fully automated management of lighting and equipment in both business and residential premises. By acquiring a stake in Plugwise, Alliander will give an impulse to the further development of the technology for energy management and appliance control systems, while contributing to regional employment in the fields of sustainability and ICT. Alliander has agreed to pay around € 1.5 million for the stake in Plugwise.

About Plugwise

Plugwise is based in Sassenheim, the Netherlands, and is a leading player in the energy management systems market. Its ambition is to grow within this market to become an international leader in the micro-energy meters and switches segmentt. Plugwise is growing rapidly in the international market and currently has sales offices in Germany (Munich), the United Kingdom (Cambridge) and the United States (New York). The company was established in 2006 and has around 40 employees.

About Alliander

Network company Alliander, which employs approximately 6,000 staff, comprises the Liander, Endinet and Liandon companies. Grid managers Liander and Endinet distribute electricity to 3.0 million customers and gas to 2.6 million customers in an area extending to over a third of the Netherlands. Liander has a statutory duty to manage the electricity and gas grids and associated plant in the provinces of Gelderland, Friesland, Flevoland, North Holland and part of South Holland; Endinet performs a similar role in Eindhoven, East Brabant and the Haarlemmermeer area. Liandon provides services relating to the construction and maintenance of complex energy infrastructures.