Malta will soon be known as the only country on earth to have a fully functioning smart grid in place once IBM’s project is completed here.

IBM’s work in Malta is a template that the computer giant could transfer all over the world to create an interconnected planet. IBM is developing a smart grid in Malta that monitors and manages both the electrical supply and the water supply. Much of Malta’s water supply comes from the sea after it passes through power-intensive desalination processes and the country relies upon fuel oil for its electrical supply and 100 per cent of it is imported. This is an expensive endeavour that country leaders would like to see operate much more efficiently.

IBM’s new smart grid will identify and isolate water leaks and loss of electricity throughout the entire system so utilities can more accurately plan for the needed supply of both resources.

Once complete, about a quarter-million smart meters equipped with the ability to pass information between consumer and supplier in real time will monitor the power supply in real time. Based on the level of supply and demand, the system will work to set the variable rate that consumers will pay.

For the first time, residents in Malta will have the ability to precisely monitor how they are consuming water and energy. It will be up to customers to become active participants to become more efficient.

IBM will have the project fully implemented by the end of 2011 and hopes to ultimately use technology featured here in other projects all over the world. The result will be an interconnected planet.

“The world continues to get smaller and flatter,” said Jeffery Rhoda, vice-president of public sector growth markets at IBM. “But we see now that being connected isn’t enough. Fortunately, something else is happening that holds new potential: the planet is becoming smarter.”

Big Blue believes the world will become a giant instrument panel. “Imagine, if you can, a billion transistors for every human being,” said Rhoda. “We’re almost there. Sensors are being embedded everywhere: in cars, appliances, roads, pipelines... even in medicine and livestock.”

Rhoda also mentioned how people are becoming more and more connected using the Internet. Soon there will be two billion people online. The result is an interconnected system of people and intelligent objects that can communicate with each other. Eventually, a trillion intelligent devices and billions of people will be connected together and generating an ocean of valuable data.

Data must be processed before it can become useful information. That is why supporting infrastructure and processing systems must be powerful and well-designed. The backend systems in Malta’s smart grid are able to process the vast amounts of data, apply advanced analytics, and return it to end users in a useful format in real time.

“There is a tremendous mandate for positive change in the world,” Rhoda explained. “We have the resources to do this. Let’s build a smarter planet.”