E-Distributie companies will invest over 11 million Euro in smart meters roll-out this year

E-Distributie Muntenia, Dobrogea and Banat, the Romanian distribution companies of the Enel Group, will install over 171,000 new smart meters in 2019 in the areas where they operate, for an investment of over 11 million Euro. As a result, by the end of 2019, over 671,000 customers of the E-Distributie companies will benefit from the smart meter technology.

“Smart meters will help lay the foundation for future digital grids, which are key to face the challenges posed by the energy transition, promoting the development of clean, sustainable and efficient energy systems,” said Gino Celentano, General Manager E-Distributie Banat, E-Distributie Dobrogea and E-Distributie Muntenia. “We continue to leverage on the vast international experience of the Enel Group in digital technologies to install smart meters in all the regions where E-Distributie companies operate, with the aim of continuing to improve service quality and provide additional benefits to our customers.”

The smart meter installation programme will be rolled out according to the plan approved by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE).

The roll out plan follows four previous pilot projects, which involved the installation of 500,000 smart meters and is part of the Enel Group’s strategy to implement smart meter technology among its 2.9 million electricity distribution customers in Romania.

E-Distributie Muntenia has scheduled for 2019 the installation of approximately 80,000 smart meters in Giurgiu and Ilfov counties. E-Distributie Muntenia has deployed in Giurgiu county the largest smart meter installation campaign, so that over 90 percent of the customers in this county will benefit from a smart metering device by the end of this year. E-Distributie Dobrogea will install over 42,000 smart meters in Calarasi, Constanta, Ialomita and Tulcea counties, while E-Distributie Banat will install meters with the new technology for approximately 50,000 customers in Arad, Caras Severin, Hunedoara and Timis counties.

By the end of 2028, the smart meter penetration rate in the E-Distributie customer base will exceed 60 percent. More specifically, E-Distributie Muntenia will install smart meters for 65 percent of all its customers, while E-Distributie Dobrogea and E-Distributie Banat for 70 percent and 60 percent of their total customers respectively.