in Barcelona
3 to 5 Nov 2026The Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO) has begun a major digital transformation of its electricity distribution network by rolling out new smart meters based on NB-IoT and LTE-M technologies. The system supports the management and transmission of consumption data for approximately 7.7 million meters, enabling measurements every 15 minutes for each household and business.
In the first phase, HEDNO is collaborating with Nova Telecommunications & Media S.A., which is supplying SIM cards and mobile connectivity services over NB-IoT and LTE-M networks, providing encrypted data transfer and full geographic coverage across Greece. The vendor for the meter-data-management software is Itron, Inc., whose Enterprise Edition (IEE) Meter Data Management (MDM) system will handle the 7.7 million meters, alongside its Utility IQ head-end system for nearly 1 million new intelligent NB-IoT smart meters.
Financially, the first phase covers around 3.12 million smart meters, with a total project cost estimated at €546 million. This phase is supported by a €150 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and additional funding from the Recovery and Resilience Facility amounting to €273 million.
The deployment of NB-IoT and LTE-M technologies is designed to ensure robust wireless communication in remote or underground locations, enabling real-time consumption data, improved detection of outages or power theft, and allowing HEDNO to provide faster fault repair and more dynamic services to consumers.
The rollout is expected to support HEDNO’s goal of modernising the Greek electricity market, reducing non-technical losses, enhancing demand forecasting, enabling new services such as demand-side management, and supporting the integration of distributed energy resources in line with Greece’s target of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
