Germany’s Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has initiated proceedings against companies that are not complying with the country’s 20% quota for the rollout of smart metering systems. The Agency says that numerous companies, most of which are SMEs (small and medium enterprises) have so far failed to fulfil their obligations regarding the smart meter rollout. As a first step, proceedings have been initiated against 77 companies that, according to figures available to the Federal Network Agency, have not yet begun the rollout.
BNetzA says the procedures aim to ensure compliance with legally mandated network expansion targets through the imposition of fines, which are determined based on the circumstances of each case, such as economic capacity, and the discretion of the Agency.
Klaus Müller, president of the Federal Network Agency, commented: “The installation of smart meters plays a central role in the digitalisation of our electricity system. We are finding that many companies are not meeting the legally mandated expansion targets. As a first step, we are initiating proceedings today against those companies that have not yet begun the rollout. The Federal Network Agency is vigorously monitoring the implementation of the legal requirements.” The Metering Point Operation Act obliges basic metering point operators to roll out metering points with modern metering devices or intelligent metering systems.
According to BDEW, Germany’s industry association for energy and water, security requirements were set very ambitiously by Germany from the outset, meaning that the development, certification, and deployment of these devices took considerable time. Furthermore, the separation of roles between the metering point operator and the grid operator makes implementation in Germany more complex, which ultimately led to a significant need for co-ordination – especially in an automated mass process.
According to BDEW, citing evaluations from BNetzA, this lengthy preparation is paying off.
Kerstin Andreae, chairwoman of the BDEW Executive Board, said: “The figures from the Federal Network Agency show that companies are on the right track. The legally mandated rollout quota for 2025 will be met by an average of 23.3% across all companies – although not by every single company.” Commenting on the Agency’s proceedings, BDEW said that they tend to involve smaller businesses, accounting for only about 1% of the mandatory rollout; their impact on the overall quota is correspondingly small.
BNetzA’s actions against defaulting enterprises come only weeks after German energy company E.ON announced the installation of their millionth smart meter, becoming the first in Germany to reach that milestone.
