Enel invests over 56 million lei in the installation of over 170,000 smart metering systems this year, reaching 900.000 smart meters installed by year-end

In 2020, the Romanian electric energy distribution companies part of Enel group, the world leader and pioneer in smart metering technology, will install over 170,000 smart meters in the areas where they operate, the company announced. The investment amounts to over 56 million lei and the company expects to reach 900.000 customers benefiting from this technology by the end of 2020.

In Bucharest, Giurgiu and Ilfov, in 2020, E-Distribuţie Muntenia has scheduled the installation of approximately 80,000 smart metering systems. Another 41,000 are installed by E-Distribuţie Dobrogea in the counties of Călărași, Constanța, Ialomița and Tulcea. According to E-Distribuţie Banat, approximately 50,000 customers from Arad, Caraş-Severin, Hunedoara and Timiș counties will benefit from the new technology by the end of this year.

The biggest advantage of smart metering for the end consumer is that, unlike the classic meter that only measures consumption linearly and requires on-site readings, the smart meter can transmit data, in real time, remotely. This means a better control of electricity consumption and, implicitly, of the cost of electricity.

Thus, instead of a fixed tariff, energy suppliers will be able to define offers based on hourly intervals, and the smart meter, integrated in a smart metering system, will be able to allow each household to adjust its consumption in the hourly intervals when electricity is more cheap. Thus, users would take control of their own consumption and the entire energy distribution system adapts to demand and not just supply, as currently.

Moreover, if the new device is an integrated part of a smart metering system and actively communicates with the distributor’s central system, the consumer can monitor and control energy consumption remotely. Information about normal or detailed electricity consumption is displayed quickly and permanently and can be viewed on a computer, tablet or phone so that the user has a clear picture and, consequently, the possibility of saving electricity.

In addition, the consumer is protected from surges. The smart metering system provides valuable information on the position, type and magnitude of incidents (medium and high voltage), reducing the time for interventions, as some can be done remotely.

Prosumers, consumers who produce electricity from renewable sources, can measure the energy produced separately. Whether we are talking about wind turbines or solar panels, the smart meter will measure separately the energy that a consumer delivers to the grid and that it absorbs from the grid. The consumer will know exactly when he consumes energy from the grid and when he consumes the renewable energy produced by him.

In Romania, the installation of smart meters is free for the electricity consumer, based on a calendar approved by the National Energy Authority.

Since 2015, Enel group invested over 240 million lei in the installation of smart metering systems in Romania. The amount is part of the Enel group’s strategy to provide the new technology to the 2.9 million electricity distribution customers in Romania.