Despite high hurdles: E.ON reaches digitalisation milestone and installs 100,000th smart meter in Germany

• Smart meter rollout is still sluggish in Germany.
• Technical and regulatory hurdles must be removed so that both grid operators and customers can benefit from the digital possibilities of smart meters.
• Other countries are far ahead of Germany in the smart meter rollout: In the UK and Sweden, E.ON installed significantly more smart meter systems.

E.ON continues to drive the digitalisation of the energy industry and was the first company to install 100,000 intelligent meter systems (so-called smart meters) in Germany. The anniversary device was installed on February 10th in the network area of E.ON subsidiary Bayernwerk in a primary school in the municipality of Thalmassing.

Compared to other countries, however, Germany has some catching up to do in the rollout of smart meters: in Sweden, E.ON has already installed one million smart meters in a first rollout wave between 2004 and 2009. The second wave is currently on its way, in which around 200,000 meters have already been installed. By the end of 2024, another 1,200 to 1,500 devices will be added daily. In the UK, E.ON already has four million smart meter installations. The slow rollout in Germany is mainly caused by too high hurdles in the form of far-reaching specifications. Many different authorities are responsible with distributed competences and responsibilities – but there is no overall responsible contact point. The German smart meter rollout plan stipulates that every meter must be intelligent or at least equipped with a digital interface by 2032.

Malte Sunderkötter, as Managing Director of the E.ON subsidiary e.kundenservice Netz responsible for the rollout of smart meter systems, says: “Smart meters are an essential part of the decentralised energy system of the future. We are pleased to be the first energy supplier in Germany to have installed 100,000 smart meter systems despite difficult general conditions. Nevertheless, other European countries are still far ahead of us in the smart meter rollout. Due to their outstanding importance for the energy world of tomorrow, technical and regulatory hurdles must be removed. Standardisation, reduction of complexity and goal-oriented interaction of all parties involved are basic prerequisites for the smart meter rollout to pick up speed and for grid operators and customers alike to benefit from the digital possibilities of a smart meter.”

Smart meters offer great added value – both for customers and grid operators

The new smart meters offer both customers and companies far-reaching advantages over the old analogue, so-called “Ferraris meters”, which will be gradually replaced by 2032. Customers have an exact, graphically prepared electricity consumption and cost control through the smart meter systems and can actively recognise savings potential. In addition, customers can benefit from new and flexible electricity tariffs.

For distribution network operators like E.ON, smart meters are elementary for the digitalisation of the network infrastructure. Smart meter systems provide anonymised data on grid utilisation, electricity consumption and feed-in, making them the navigation system of the energy transition. Energy flows can thus not only be measured almost in real time, but flexible feeders and consumers can also be intelligently networked. This transparency is a prerequisite for ensuring that grids can continue to be used efficiently and remain efficient in the future. Even the volatile generation from renewable energies can only continue to be reliably integrated into the grids with the help of transparency and digital control. E.ON plans to install 173,000 smart meter systems by the end of 2022.

More information: https://www.eon.com/…

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