Italgas: water grids’ digital transformation and partnership with TaKaDu

Milan, 30 December 2020 -  Italgas started the process of digital transformation of its water grids, which are currently under concession, with the aim of improving operational efficiency and service quality by leveraging the expertise developed in the management of gas networks. The initiative is part of the 2020-2026 Strategic Plan recently approved by the BoDs. The plan allocated, among others, 120 million euro to new investments in order to support the Group's growth in the water sector while improving the quality of the service provided to the citizens. The digital transformation programme concerns five water networks licensed to the Group in Caserta and in other four municipalities (Casaluce, Galluccio, Roccaromana, Baia-e-Latina), which together distribute 8 million cubic meters of water to around 30,000 customers through 270 km of network. The programme relies on two pillars:

• the partnership agreement signed with the Israeli company TaKaDu, a global leader in the development of digital Central Event Management for water networks, already active in 13 countries;

• the introduction of the latest-generation smart meter, based on ultrasonic technology, with a plan to replace all traditional meters by 2021.

The completion of the programme, which also involves the application of IoT sensor technology along the city networks, will allow to keep under control, at all times, infrastructures’ operating parameters, quickly detect any failures with increased accuracy, and rapidly react in case of leaks. In Italy, according to Istat, the Italian National Institute of Statistics, water networks have an average loss of 40% in terms of volume of water distributed. To facilitate the process of renewal of those networks, the results achieved on Italgas water grids by Italgas-TaKaDu partnership will be made available to the Italian water utilities, through a dedicated service offer to improve the efficiency and quality of the service and, above all, to reduce network losses.