Landis+Gyr Europe, Middle East, and Africa unveiled its latest electricity smart metering solution at the Enlit Africa power, energy, and water industry exhibition and conference held in Cape Town earlier this year.

The company says its E480 DIN-Rail meter is designed to help South African utilities and consumers better manage electricity usage and to facilitate a shift towards smarter, more resilient electricity infrastructure across the country.

The solution 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, aimed at helping utilities and consumers to better manage electricity usage.

“The future of energy in South Africa depends on smarter, more adaptive electricity systems,” said  Landis+Gyr South Africa CEO Connel Ngcukana. “Solutions like the E480 give utilities and consumers the tools they need to respond more effectively to electricity demand, improve efficiency, and unlock new opportunities within the energy ecosystem.”

The meter uses NB-IoT connectivity, with 2G fallback, to enable reliable, real-time communication with the head-end system, and a mobile application that replaces the traditional customer interface unit, giving users direct access to their electricity consumption data and prepayment functionality.

Additional practical uses of the solution include load limiting capabilities, enabling consumers to feed excess generated electricity back into the grid which can help reduce pressure on the national grid and support households with solar PV systems.

Advanced features that also help strengthen grid stability and improve revenue protection for utilities include power quality monitoring, demand management, tamper detection, and remote supply control.

“Designing and manufacturing the E480 locally in Gauteng, South Africa, reflects our long-term commitment to South Africa,” added Ngcukana. “It allows us to support local skills development and job creation, while ensuring we deliver solutions that are tailored to the unique needs of our market.”