What Solo Energy does

Solo Energy operates as Smart Metering Systems Limited (SMS), an independent energy infrastructure and solutions provider incorporated in Scotland and headquartered in the UK with a long-serving operating history of more than 25 years. The company delivers an integrated portfolio spanning metering (SMETS2 smart meters for domestic and business customers, including the first-ever 3-phase SMETS2 meter developed for the UK market), infrastructure (multi-utility and telecoms network services), data management (electric and gas data plus the SmartVision portfolio analytics platform), and energy services (net-zero strategy, renewable energy solutions, energy management, and energy procurement). Its customer base spans the UK utility industry, industrial and commercial sectors, and the public sector.

The company's strategic product differentiation sits in two areas: FlexiGrid, a cloud-based Virtual Power Plant platform that communicates with, monitors, and controls distributed energy resources to deliver real-time flexibility services, and a Demand Flexibility Service that enables suppliers and energy technology businesses to participate in National Grid ESO's flexibility programmes. Metis by SMS extends the offering into residential consumer engagement, having won the Net Zero Engagement Award at the 2025 Utility Week Awards. SMS manages over 4 million metering assets and supports its products with in-house training and test centre capabilities.

The business model combines asset-heavy recurring infrastructure services (meter installation, management, and reading for energy suppliers), project-based infrastructure delivery (multi-utility and telecoms), data and analytics subscriptions (SmartVision), and emerging flexibility/VPP revenues. No public pricing data is disclosed. The company is privately held with no parent company or external funding rounds disclosed in the source material, and its scale of 1,001–5,000 employees and 4M+ metering assets makes it a significant UK independent in the smart metering and grid flexibility sector.

Name

Solo Energy

Legal name

Smart Metering Systems Limited

Website

https://sms-plc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Solo Energy (Smart Metering Systems Limited / SMS) is an independent UK energy infrastructure and solutions provider delivering smart metering, data, grid flexibility, and net-zero services across utility, industrial & commercial, and public-sector customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Management Software

NAICS

Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211), Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112)

SIC

Electric & Other Services Combined (4931), Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail Supply + DER/Virtual Power Plant Bundles (Solar, Storage, DR) (EUAGABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Customer Energy Engagement (In-Home Displays, Portals, Usage Insights) (EUADAFAH)

Keywords

• Smart metering services
• Energy management software
• Virtual power plant
• Demand flexibility aggregation
• Energy infrastructure solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Cork

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Solo Energy delivers end-to-end energy infrastructure, smart metering, energy data management, and grid-flexibility solutions to UK energy suppliers, businesses, and the public sector. Its proprietary software platforms FlexiGrid (Virtual Power Plant) and SmartVision (portfolio analytics) sit alongside SMETS2 smart meter hardware and the Metis residential energy engagement app to enable distributed energy resource orchestration and carbon reduction. The company manages over 4 million metering assets and operates a National Grid ESO Demand Flexibility Service.

Product overview

SMS provides a portfolio of interconnected energy solutions spanning metering, infrastructure, data management, and grid flexibility. The core offering includes FlexiGrid (VPP platform for distributed energy resource management) and SmartVision (energy portfolio analytics platform). These are complemented by Demand Flexibility Service for National Grid ESO participation, smart meter installation and management services, and Metis by SMS for residential energy engagement. The company manages over 4 million metering assets and delivers infrastructure, data, and energy services across UK domestic, commercial, and industrial markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Metis: Energy management platform providing energy saving insights for residential customers through the Energy Saver App.
• FlexiGrid
• SmartVision

Products and services

• FlexiGrid

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• E.ON Next: Major UK energy supplier with its own metering, data and home energy management products, serving overlapping residential and I&C segments to SMS.
• EDF Energy (UK): Vertically integrated UK utility with smart-meter obligations and DER ambitions; provides an incumbent alternative to SMS for suppliers and flexibility services customers.
• Octopus Energy: Large UK energy supplier running the Kraken DERMS/VPP platform that controls residential DERs and competes with SMS in the same flexibility markets; broader retail supply focus.
• Centrica / British Gas: UK incumbent utility with extensive smart-meter assets and growing in-house flexibility offerings. Competes with SMS on metering services and customer-facing energy management.

Direct peers

• Limejump: UK-focused Virtual Power Plant and flexibility aggregator that pools DERs for balancing and wholesale markets. Directly comparable to SMS's FlexiGrid platform and Demand Flexibility Service.
• Hildebrand (Glowmarkt): UK smart-meter data services company building consumer-facing energy insights. Comparable to SMS's SmartVision analytics and Metis consumer engagement layer.
• Kiwi Power (ENGIE): Demand response and VPP aggregator active in the UK balancing mechanism and DNO flexibility markets, competing head-to-head with FlexiGrid for aggregated DER capacity.
• Piclo: UK flexibility marketplace used by DNOs and the ESO to procure DER services. Operates in the same National Grid ESO / DNO flexibility ecosystem that SMS's FlexiGrid targets.
• GridBeyond: AI-driven flexibility and VPP platform with strong UK and Irish presence serving commercial and industrial DERs. Overlaps SMS's C&I flexibility aggregation capabilities.

Others

• Landis+Gyr: Global smart-meter manufacturer and AMI infrastructure provider; comparable to SMS on the metering hardware and AMI infrastructure layer rather than on software/flexibility aggregation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Solo_Energy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Solo Energy