At Enlit Africa, Landis+Gyr EMEA unveiled its latest electricity smart metering innovation, the E480 DIN-Rail meter, designed to help utilities and consumers better manage electricity use amid South Africa’s ongoing energy challenges.
Enlit Africa is a leading gathering of the continent’s power, energy, and water community, bringing together utilities, municipalities, technology providers, and policymakers to explore solutions that are shaping Africa’s energy future. Launching the E480 on this platform underscores the urgency and relevance of accelerating the development of smarter, more resilient electricity infrastructure across South Africa and the broader region.
As the country continues to navigate grid constraints, rising electricity demand, and the transition to more decentralised energy systems, the need for smarter, more responsive electricity infrastructure has become increasingly urgent. The E480 smart electricity meter is well placed to support this shift by providing greater visibility, control, and efficiency across the electricity value chain.
The E480 is a smart prepayment electricity meter that supports both prepayment and post-payment environments. It enables two-way communication and provides real-time access to electricity consumption data, empowering utilities and consumers with actionable insights to manage electricity use more effectively.
“The future of energy in South Africa depends on smarter, more adaptive electricity systems,” said Connel Ngcukana, CEO of Landis+Gyr South Africa. “Solutions such as the E480 give utilities and consumers the tools to respond more effectively to electricity demand, improve efficiency, and unlock new opportunities across the energy ecosystem.”
The meter uses NB-IoT connectivity with 2G fallback to enable reliable, real-time communication with the Head-End System (HES) and a mobile application that replaces the traditional customer interface unit, providing users with direct access to their electricity consumption data, prepayment functionality, and energy insights.
Beyond operational efficiency, the E480 introduces practical use cases that directly benefit South African consumers. These include load-limiting capabilities, which can help reduce pressure on the national grid and lessen the need for load-shedding, as well as support for households with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. This enables consumers to feed excess electricity generated back into the grid, supporting greater energy resilience and participation in the energy market.
With advanced features such as power-quality monitoring, demand management, tamper detection, and remote supply control, the solution also enhances grid stability and improves revenue protection for utilities.
“Designing and manufacturing the E480 locally in Gauteng, South Africa, reflects our long-term commitment to South Africa,” added Connel Ngcukana. “It enables us to support local skills development and job creation while ensuring we deliver solutions tailored to our market’s specific needs.”
The launch at Enlit Africa featured a live product reveal and demonstration, offering industry stakeholders a first-hand look at how the technology can support South Africa’s energy transition.