So much for the “cursed seventh year”—the biggest customer gathering ever, with customers and partners on board for the first time
The event was once again a great success—both for us as hosts and speakers and for our guests and participants. We were particularly pleased to see numerous partner companies participate for the first time; they took full advantage of the opportunity to connect and exchange ideas with our customers. We were delighted by the high level of interest and would like to thank everyone who attended and actively participated.
Here’s a brief overview of the agenda for those who weren’t there:
The 2024 Customer Meeting kicked off on June 11 at the Manufaktur in Mannheim. The day began with workshops on “Communication Technology in the Rollout: Mobile Communications and Broadband Powerline,” “Mastering the SMGW Rollout,” and an “Exploration of the CLS Ecosystem.” The partner exhibition kicked off during the lunch break, taking networking to the next level at the Customer Meeting.
After refreshments, our board chairman officially opened the customer meeting with a warm welcome speech. Michael Brehm, a speaker from the Federal Office for Information Security, then provided an overview of the regulatory framework for TR-03109-5. Karsten Brodowski, Head of the Metering Department at Stromnetz Berlin GmbH, offered insights into the operations center.
During the coffee break, participants had another opportunity to talk with the partners and take part in numerous live demonstrations. In the afternoon, Greta Esders and Karen Schmid focused on “The Platform for the Digital Network Access Point.”
The final presentation of the day was a keynote address followed by a discussion on the topic of “Taxes under Section 14a of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG).” Participants in the discussion included Ingo Stolley of BTC AG, Thomas Suding of EWE NETZ GmbH, Dr. Christian Hofmann of Robotron Datenbank-Software GmbH, and Volker Specht of Westenergie Metering GmbH.
The day ended with a perfect sunset, delicious food, and cool drinks. The relaxed get-together and networking rounded out the evening, while the view of Mannheim’s Bonadieshafen provided a wonderful backdrop.
The second day of the customer meeting began on June 12 at 9 a.m. with a presentation of the PPC Roadmap by our Executive Board. Following an inspiring keynote address by Dr. Sören Patzack of BET Büro für Energiewirtschaft und technische Planung GmbH, a panel discussion took place with Sebastian Kaden of E.ON Grid Solutions GmbH and our CEO, Ingo Schönberg.
After the first coffee break had helped even the networking evening’s record-holders get back into the swing of things, there were concurrent presentations on “Control and Section 14a of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) in Practice” and “Mastering the Rollout.” The “Control” session highlighted the various methods of control via an energy management system, using a control box, and directly from the SMGW.
The second presentation slot, “Mastering the Rollout,” focused on optimizing installation and operation using our NMS and the NMS Connector app, optimizing fault management, and the OMS Compact Profile for network status data.
In the afternoon, our Innovation Department took a look into the future with a trend radar and a large-scale survey. Janosch Wagner shed light on regulatory developments in the energy sector in Berlin and Bonn.
In closing, the Executive Board summarized all the presentations and impressions, and the 2024 Customer Meeting came to a successful conclusion.
We hope there was something for everyone—even if it was just a ride on our surf simulator at the end.
Thank you to all our partners, participants, and, of course, speakers for your engaging presentations, your keen interest and dedication, and two unforgettable days of fruitful exchanges in Mannheim.
We’re already looking forward to seeing you at the 2025 PPC Customer Meeting.
More information coming soon.
A quick look at our photo gallery
