Europe’s biggest utility Enel plans to increase spending on digital networks to offer smart meters, remote home appliance controls and car charging points. The Italian company wants to take advantage of the convergence of electricity networks and telecom services as customers look to get more control over their power consumption. “Italy is a country that has been very innovative in this area,” said Stefano Bonaccini, chief executive officer at Enel. It has a budget of €17bn for the next two years, but will cut investment in South America.
Europe’s biggest utility Enel plans to increase spending on digital networks to offer smart meters, remote home appliance controls and car charging points. The Italian company wants to take advantage of the convergence of electricity networks and telecom services as customers look to get more control over their power consumption. To that end, it is spending €5.1bn on a vast fibre optic network in Italy and is looking at similar projects for big cities in Latin America. It has a budget of €17bn for the next two years, but will cut investment in South America.