Ericsson among presenters at Saudi Arabia Smart Grid Conference

 Saudi Arabian representatives of communication technology provider Ericsson attended the Saudi Arabia Smart Grid Conference on Dec. 7-9, where they gave a presentation titled "Networked Society and the Internet of Things for Sustainable Use of Energy Resources."

"We are living in an increasingly networked world, and as a result we are all experiencing its profound implications," Ericsson of Saudi Arabia President Ali Eid said. "The dynamic shift within the utilities industry is undeniable; we are showcasing the way that smart grid solutions enable the carbon footprint to be decreased by implementing smart metering aimed at improving connectivity for sustainability. Our objective is to create opportunities for efficient grid and energy consumption management so that seamless integration of micro-generated, renewable energy sources will be realized."

The Ericsson presentation covered topics such as the connectivity and exploitation of big data and how they are changing the utilities industry. Ericsson representatives explained how useful smart grids can be in homes and how they can help people with such things as bill payment and the use of renewable energy.

"In the networked society, everyone and everything will be connected in real time - and the utilities sector is already reaping the benefits of this transformation," Eid said. "Our portfolio helps utilities increase efficiency and better manage, distribute and monitor society's most vital resources. Ericsson predicts that by the year 2020, billions of devices will be connected to the energy smart grid, from street lamps, to home appliances and power pole transformers, to solar panels and wind turbines."