Association sees progress in Smart Meters
Digital electricity meters have advantages for consumers internationally. So far, such smart meters have been hardly widespread. This is slowly changing.
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Consumers gain more transparency about their electricity consumption through digital electricity meters and can reduce costs. The installation of these intelligent metering systems (Smart Meters) is finally gaining momentum from the perspective of the electrical industry association ZVEI. This concerns mandatory expansion, but the development is also positive from a manufacturer's perspective.
"Demand has risen sharply," ZVEI President Gunther Kegel told the German Press Agency dpa. "This shows: The rollout is not only stable in the mandatory area, but is also gaining momentum beyond that." The "Smart Meter Initiative" by electricity providers, on the other hand, expressed disappointment with the speed of the smart meter rollout.
Digital Electricity Meters
An intelligent metering system is a digital electricity meter equipped with a communication module. Electricity consumption can be tracked much more accurately and transparently with it than with conventional meters.
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A smart meter is the technical prerequisite for a so-called dynamic electricity tariff – this allows consumers to use electricity at times when it is cheaper on the stock exchange. Since January, all energy providers have had to offer such tariffs.
Distribution of Smart Meters
To advance the digitalization of the energy transition, the former government had decided on a roadmap for the installation of smart meters. Installation is mandatory for all consumers with an annual electricity consumption of over 6,000 kilowatt hours, as well as for so-called controllable loads such as heat pumps.
For the mandatory area, certain quotas must be met in the coming years. All other consumers have the option to request the installation of smart meters.
According to previous statements by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the goal is for smart meters to be used comprehensively in households and companies by 2032. According to ZVEI, network operators can use smart meters to see how loads are distributed in the network. This allows bottlenecks to be identified early, voltage drops to be avoided, and electricity flow to be controlled proactively. This ensures more efficient use of the network infrastructure.
Association sees installation on track
According to current figures from the Federal Network Agency, more than 16 percent of mandatory installation cases were implemented from January to June 2025. This corresponds to approximately 760,000 intelligent metering systems installed. This means the rollout is clearly on track to achieve the expansion target of 20 percent for mandatory installations by the end of the year, Kegel said. Legal changes had provided crucial impetus. "Procedures were simplified, processes accelerated, and economic efficiency for metering point operators improved."
Overall, however, according to figures from the Federal Network Agency, the proportion of intelligent metering systems across all so-called metering locations is currently only 3 percent. According to ZVEI, 8.5 percent of all metering locations fall under the mandatory rollout. The smart meter rollout needs to be communicated more widely to the public, Kegel said. "We need to show people the concrete benefits that smart meters offer – for themselves, for the grid, and for the energy transition as a whole."
Initiative: Growth stagnates
Matthias Martensen, CEO of electricity provider Ostrom, spoke of stagnating growth in smart meters. The rollout is simply not economically viable for most of the so-called grundzuständigen Messstellenbetreiber (default metering point operators). Better conditions are needed – both for competitive metering point operators and for the introduction of less complex and expensive "Smart Meter Light." Martensen is a co-founder of the "Smart Meter Initiative," consisting of four electricity providers.
(mho)
