Virtual Power Plants Move Toward Real Trading, Activating a Hundred-Billion-Yuan Power Hardware Market

Badger Meter launched OneNetwork, a real-time monitoring and analytics platform designed to unify fragmented water and wastewater system data, at the WEFTEC conference in New Orleans. The company's share price has fallen 27.6% year to date, with a 1 year total shareholder return down 28.6%, though the 5 year total shareholder return of 26.6% still points to longer term gains. The most followed narrative places Badger Meter's fair value at $169, above the last close of $127.77, framing OneNetwork as part of a wider digital push alongside the BlueEdge platform and expansion beyond the meter. That narrative cites intensifying water scarcity, mounting regulatory pressure, and mandates for real-time monitoring as drivers of shorter replacement cycles and pricing power. Supply chain and tariff pressures, along with any slowdown in core utility water projects, could weaken that upbeat case.

The Ministry of Interior is preparing to submit a people's solar cell project to the screening committee for the use of loans under the 400-billion-baht emergency loan decree, specifically the 200 billion baht portion earmarked for energy transition, by October 2. Registration for the project is expected to open on November 1. Deputy Interior Minister Phonphir Suwanchawi said the project has been expanded from rooftop installations only to allow people to install solar panels on the ground and on water as well. Participants must have an electricity meter, and the electricity authority will replace it with a smart meter free of charge, as the Interior Ministry is seeking to use loan funds to purchase smart meters in support of a nationwide Smart Grid plan in the future. Support remains unchanged: the government will contribute 50,000 baht per household for installation. People can install solar cells ranging from 5 kW up to a maximum of 10 kW, with the electricity authority buying back power at 5 kW at a rate of 2.20 baht per unit under a 20-year contract. The target is 1 to 1.5 million households, with a budget of roughly 50 to 75 billion baht. Those interested can apply for loans to install solar panels from three specialized financial institutions: the Government Housing Bank, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, and the Government Savings Bank, at an interest rate of 2.5% per year over a seven-year term. The use of income from electricity sales to repay the financial institutions is still under consideration by the Energy Regulatory Commission and the National Energy Policy Council within October. In addition, operators providing installation services must pass the Vendor List standards of the Provincial Electricity Authority and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority.

Interlink Telecom Public Company Limited, or ITEL, is preparing to join the bidding for smart grid power network projects after Thailand's Power Development Plan, or PDP 2026, opened the way for increased investment in the power grid. Dr. Nattanai Anantaramporn, the company's Chief Executive Officer, said the company already has expertise in communications network systems and expects business direction in the third quarter of 2026 to hold steady near the level of the second quarter of 2026, with its current backlog at 3.9 billion baht. It is maintaining its full-year 2026 revenue target of 3.6 billion baht and plans to bid for new work from government agencies and other sources continuously through the remainder of the year. Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the Federation of Thai Industries, or FTI, estimates that investment in grid and power systems to support renewable energy, energy storage, electricity, electric vehicles and data centers could total around 500 billion baht within five years. Krungsri Securities Public Company Limited expects profit in 2027 to grow outstandingly from 2026, at around 65 million baht, driven by recognition of revenue from SI projects through its 80 percent stake in a joint venture with THCOM and TKC. It therefore sets a target price for ITEL shares at around 2.00 baht and gives a buy recommendation.

Pro Inside Public Company Limited, or PIS, is launching an aggressive second-half push in 2026, moving ahead with gradual revenue recognition from large-scale projects for government agencies and state enterprises that are already underway, while accelerating its pursuit of new bids. It holds a backlog of more than 6,096 million baht to support revenue recognition over the next three to four years. The backlog is mostly made up of Application Solutions work at 58%, followed by IT Integration Services at 31% and Physical Security at 11%. The key turning point is the acquisition of a 50% stake in Energy Max Company Limited, or Energy Max, which manufactures, assembles and distributes electronic electricity meters as well as smart energy management systems in Thailand. This investment builds on PIS's IT expertise by combining it with Energy Max's energy technology, opening the door to the Smart Grid market across smart meters, smart transmission lines and rooftop solar, in line with government policy on the energy transition. It also serves as a mechanism to create a new S-Curve, transforming the company from a contractor for IT systems into a provider of Technology Solutions spanning Application, IT Integration, Physical Security, AI, Cloud, ERP, Digital Banking and Energy Technology.

Thales and Landis+Gyr announced a strategic collaboration to deliver secure, scalable cellular connectivity for smart meter deployments across North America. Under the deal, Thales will supply Landis+Gyr with eSIM technology and advanced IoT connectivity management to simplify and secure remote management of smart meter fleets throughout their lifecycle, combined with Simetric's single pane of glass platform for centralized monitoring and control. The solution uses Thales' latest eSIM technology, compliant with the GSMA's SGP.32 specification, allowing network profiles to be provisioned, changed or managed over the air and reducing reliance on physical SIM replacement. Landis+Gyr serves more than 2,000 utilities worldwide and has more than 180 million connected intelligent devices in the field, while North America's installed base of smart electricity meters is expected to grow from 152.4 million in 2024 to 180.9 million by 2030, according to Berg Insight. The capability will become part of Landis+Gyr's Revelo and Surent platforms, and Thales' eSIM subscription management solutions support more than 450 mobile network operators and more than 200 OEMs across consumer and IoT markets.