Calisen was a British company that provided essential energy infrastructure and services, primarily focused on the installation and management of smart meters for homes and businesses across the United Kingdom.
History Calisen was founded in 2017 as a holding company for Metering Assets Limited (MAL), which had been operating since 2006. Its business model revolved around owning and leasing smart meters and providing metering services to energy retailers. The company went public, listing on the London Stock Exchange in February 2020. However, in late 2020, it was acquired by a consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), a global investment firm, leading to its delisting from the stock exchange.
Operations Calisen's core business activities included:
- Smart Meter Asset Ownership: Owning a large portfolio of smart gas and electricity meters. These meters were then leased to energy suppliers, who in turn provided them to their customers.
- Smart Meter Installation Services: Through its subsidiary, Lowri Beck (acquired in 2019), Calisen provided installation and maintenance services for smart meters on behalf of energy suppliers. This involved field engineers visiting properties to install and maintain the devices.
- Data and Energy Management: The smart meters facilitate the collection of granular energy consumption data, which can be used by suppliers and consumers for better energy management, billing accuracy, and supporting the transition to a more flexible energy grid.
Significance Calisen played a significant role in the UK's national smart meter rollout program, a government-backed initiative aimed at upgrading traditional meters to smart meters across the country to improve energy efficiency, enable time-of-use tariffs, and support grid modernization. Its operations were critical to the infrastructure underpinning the UK's evolving energy market.