'Smart metering system’ in the EU law is defined as an electronic system that is capable of measuring electricity fed into the grid or electricity consumed from the grid, providing more information than a conventional meter, and that is capable of transmitting and receiving data for information, monitoring and control purposes, using a form of electronic communication (Article 2(23) of Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal market for electricity (recast) on common rules for the internal market in electricity (recast)).

                       
                 
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The relevant rules are laid down in Article 2(23), Articles 19 - 22 and Annex II to the said Directive. Subsequent legislation refers to the above definitions (see for example Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1162 of 6 June 2023 on interoperability requirements and non-discriminatory and transparent procedures for access to metering and consumption data.

According to Directive, metering activity can be deregulated and must not necessarily be a a Distribution System Operator’s (DSO’s) activity.

However, the metering remains largely regulated in the vast majority of the Member States. Germany and the Netherlands are the only 2 Member States, where a part of the activity is deregulated: smart metering in Germany and metering of the large (non-household) consumers in the Netherlands. The cost of metering is a part of a tariff, but is not distinguished as a separate tariff or tariff element in 17 Member States and in Wallonia region of Belgium, while it is distinguished as a separate tariff or tariff element in the remaining Member States and in Brussels and Flanders regions of Belgium (ACER Report on Distribution Tariff Methodologies in Europe, February 2021, p. 30, 31).

Annex I to the Electricity Directive 2009/72/EC requires the EU Member States to roll out electricity smart meters to 80% of consumers by 2020, unless the result of a Cost Benefits Analysis (CBA) is negative. For the gas sector, Annex I of the Gas Directive 2009/73/EC requires Member States to prepare a timetable for the roll-out of gas smart meters based on a CBA (with no indication of a timeline).

  

 

Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC


Annex I, point 2

Member States shall ensure the implementation of intelligent metering systems that shall assist the active participation of consumers in the electricity supply market. The implementation of those metering systems may be subject to an economic assessment of all the long-term costs and benefits to the market and the individual consumer or which form of intelligent metering is economically reasonable and cost-effective and which timeframe is feasible for their distribution. Such assessment shall take place by 3 September 2012. Subject to that assessment, Member States or any competent authority they designate shall prepare a timetable with a target of up to 10 years for the implementation of intelligent metering systems. Where roll-out of smart meters is assessed positively, at least 80 % of consumers shall be equipped with intelligent metering systems by 2020. The Member States, or any competent authority they designate, shall ensure the interoperability of those metering systems to be implemented within their territories and shall have due regard to the use of appropriate standards and best practice and the importance of the development of the internal market in electricity.

 


The so-called 'Winter Package' defines a 'smart metering system' as an electronic system that can measure energy consumption, providing more information than a conventional meter, and can transmit and receive data for information, monitoring and control purposes, using a form of electronic communication (Article 2(18) of the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the internal market for electricity (recast) on common rules for the internal market in electricity (recast), 30.11.2016, COM(2016) 864 final 2016/0380 (COD)).

'Conventional meter' in this context is 'an analogue meter or an electronic meter with no capability to both transmit and receive data' (Article 2(17) of the Proposal for a Directive). Detailed rules on smart metering are envisioned in Articles 19 - 22 of the said Proposal for a Directive (see box below).

Article 16(7) of the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the internal market for electricity (recast), 30.11.2016, COM(2016) 861 final 2016/0379 (COD), moreover, stipulates that where the EU Member States have implemented the deployment of smart metering systems, regulatory authorities may introduce "time differentiated network tariffs, reflecting the use of the network", in a transparent and foreseeable way for the consumer.

Article 9(2)(a) of the Energy Efficiency Directive establishes the obligation of EU Member States to ensure that the "objectives of energy efficiency and benefits for final household consumers are fully taken into account when establishing the minimum functionalities of the meters and the obligations imposed on market participants".

It is for the EU Member State to decide which energy-efficiency objectives and which benefits to final consumers are taken into account when setting minimum standards for smart meters (Commission Staff Working Document Guidance note on Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EC, and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC Articles 9 - 11: Metering; billing information; cost of access to metering and billing information Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council Implementing the Energy Efficiency Directive – Commission Guidance SWD/2013/0448 final).

Commission Recommendation 2012/148/EU of 9 March 2012 on preparations for the roll-out of smart metering systems (OJ L 73, 13.3.2012, p. 9–22) aims to facilitate the roll-out of smart meters, and provides common minimum functional requirements for the smart metering of electricity. The requirements concern access and frequency of meter readings for the consumer, the network operator and any 3rd party designated by the consumer. The meters must provide two-way communication for maintenance and control, support advanced tariff systems, allow for remote control of the power supply and/or power limitation, and provide import/export facilities. Furthermore, meters must provide secure data connections, fraud prevention and detection.

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Dynamic pricing

 

Energy Efficiency Directive 

 

Smart grids and meters, European Commission's website

Top 5 functionality requirements of smart meters across Europe, according to the ACER/CEER Annual Report on the Results of Monitoring the Internal Electricity and Gas Markets in 2015, Consumer Protection and Empowerment of November 2016 (p. 44), are as follows:
- information on actual consumption,
- remote reading of the meters by the operator,
- bills based on actual consumption,
- access to information of consumption on customers' demand,
- customer control of metering data.

According to the above ACER/CEER Annual Report minimal technical and other requirements for smart meters are defined in legislation in eighteen EU Member States in the case of electricity and in ten EU Member States in the case of gas. Most of these Member States require that smart meters provide information on actual consumption, make billing based on actual consumption possible and ensure easy access to information for household consumers. However, functionality requirements differ widely across Member States.

ACER/CEER Annual Report of 22 October 2018 on the Results of Monitoring the Internal Electricity and Natural Gas Markets in 2017 (Consumer Empowerment Volume) refers, for example, to smart meters with remote consumption control functionality, which adapt the operation of specific home appliances, such as heat pumps, to hourly electricity prices, in order to benefit from shifting consumption to lower-price periods. The said Report of 22 October 2018 looks, moreover, into the issues of:

- time intervals for consumption data stored in the smart meters,

- time-of-use contracts.

According to the said Report of 22 October 2018:

- the shortest time interval for consumption data stored in the smart meter varied across the EU Member States, the most commonly used was 15 minutes (in 14 countries), in 3 EU Member Staes it was 30 minutes and in further 3 EU Member States it amounted to 1 hour,

- customers in 13 EU Member States can sign up to time-of-use contracts with intra-day/weekdays/weekend energy price differentiation, while in 8 countries customers can choose real-time or hourly energy pricing.

According to the aforementioned ACER/CEER Report of November 2016, the roll-out of gas smart meters is still limited. However, as pointed out in the CEER Report of 22 July 2019 (Case Studies on Implementing Technology that Benefits Consumers in the CEP, Ref: C19-IRM-16-04) in Sweden all customers have smart meters since 2009. According to the said Report, as from 2012 all customers in Sweden were also entitled “to opt for a meter upgrade in order to get hourly metering, however, very few customers have done so. By 2025 all meters will be upgraded to support hourly settlement, and thus enable customers to opt for dynamic price contracts. In this specific situation, customers who already want such contracts may request an upgrade of their smart meters ahead of the deadline”.

 

ITRE’s propositions of February 2018

 

Interestingly, the Report of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) of 27 February 2018 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for the internal market in electricity (recast) (COM(2016)0864 – C8-0495/2016 – 2016/0380(COD)) focused its draft amendments on issues of final customers’ privacy in the area of smart metering. The original European Commission’s proposal only stated that “the privacy and data protection of final customers is ensured in compliance with relevant Union data protection and privacy legislation” while the ITRE added expressly that “it shall in particular be possible for the final customer to have access to information on the identity of other parties which access their personal data, and on the moment of access, in order to be able to enforce their rights under Union data protection legislation”.

The ITRE also modified the European Commission’s proposals on customers’ access to metering data on electricity input and off-take. According to the EU executive’s proposal the said data must be made available to customers via a local standardised communication interface and/or remote access, or to a third party acting on customers’ behalf, in an easily understandable format. The ITRE additionally requires that this this access must be “as close to real time as possible” and must allow customers to compare deals on a like-for-like basis. The ITRE amendments impose, moreover, the requirement that final customers must be able to download their metering data or transmit them to another party at no additional cost and in accordance with their right to data portability under Union data protection legislation.

 

The recast Electricity Directive

 

Articles 19 to 21 of the recast Electricity Directive reinforce and clarify the provisions regarding the roll-out of smart meters, seeking to encourage their widespread deployment across the EU. Among other things, the revisions address:

  • interoperability and common functionalities for smart meters;
  • compliance with data privacy and security rules;
  • consumers’ access to historical data and data on their electricity input and off-take; and
  • aperiodic review of the economic assessment on the possible deployment of smart metering systems.

The recast Electricity Directive also entitles customers to request a smart meter to be installed in Member States where the cost-benefit assessment is negative, as long as the customer bears the associated costs. Owing to the above, CEER recalls that smart meters cannot be considered as standalone devices. Their roll-out instead relies on the deployment of IT and communication infrastructure that represent a significant share of the cost. Much of this cost is fixed and is subject to significant economies of scale, such that a limited smart meter roll-out only to customers “on request” would prove disproportionately expensive on a unit basis. Hence, the associated costs could be considerable.

CEER notes the importance of establishing the meaning of the specific provisions regarding these requested smart meters in Article 21: “...shall ensure that every final customer is entitled on request, while bearing the associated costs, to have installed or, where applicable, to have upgraded, under fair, reasonable and cost-effective conditions...”

 

 

Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the internal market for electricity (recast) on common rules for the internal market in electricity (recast), Recitals 23, 24, 37, 52 - 55, Article 2(23), Articles 19 - 22, Annex II

 

Recital 23

 

[...] Member States should ensure that all beneficiaries of regulated prices are able to benefit fully from the offers available on the competitive market when they choose to do so. To that end, those beneficiaries need to be equipped with smart metering systems and have access to dynamic electricity price contracts. In addition, they should be directly and regularly informed of the offers and savings available on the competitive market, in particular relating to dynamic electricity price contracts, and should be provided with assistance to respond to and benefit from market-based offers.

 

Recital 24

 

The entitlement of beneficiaries of regulated prices to receive individual smart meters without extra costs should not prevent Member States from modifying the functionality of smart metering systems where smart meter infrastructure does not exist because the cost-benefit assessment regarding the deployment of smart metering systems was negative.

 

Recital 37

 

All consumers should be able to benefit from directly participating in the market, in particular by adjusting their consumption according to market signals and, in return, benefiting from lower electricity prices or other incentive payments. The benefits of such active participation are likely to increase over time, as the awareness of otherwise passive consumers is raised about their possibilities as active customers and as the information on the possibilities of active participation becomes more accessible and better known. Consumers should have the possibility of participating in all forms of demand response. They should therefore have the possibility of benefiting from the full deployment of smart metering systems and, where such deployment has been negatively assessed, of choosing to have a smart metering system and a dynamic electricity price contract. This should allow them to adjust their consumption according to real-time price signals that reflect the value and cost of electricity or transportation in different time periods, while Member States should ensure the reasonable exposure of consumers to wholesale price risk. Consumers should be informed about benefits and potential price risks of dynamic electricity price contracts. Member States should also ensure that those consumers who choose not to actively engage in the market are not penalised. Instead, their ability to make informed decisions on the options available to them should be facilitated in the manner that is the most suited to domestic market conditions.

 

Recital 52

 

Engaging consumers requires appropriate incentives and technologies such as smart metering systems. Smart metering systems empower consumers because they allow them to receive accurate and near real-time feedback on their energy consumption or generation, and to manage their consumption better, to participate in and reap benefits from demand response programmes and other services, and to lower their electricity bills. Smart metering systems also enable distribution system operators to have better visibility of their networks, and as a consequence, to reduce their operation and maintenance costs and to pass those savings on to the consumers in the form of lower distribution tariffs.

 

Recital 53

 

When it comes to deciding at national level on the deployment of smart metering systems, it should be possible to base this decision on an economic assessment. That economic assessment should take into account the long- term benefits of the deployment of smart metering systems to consumers and the whole value chain, such as better network management, more precise planning and identification of network losses. Should that assessment conclude that the introduction of such metering systems is cost-effective only for consumers with a certain amount of electricity consumption, Member States should be able to take that conclusion into account when proceeding with the deployment of smart metering systems. However, such assessments should be reviewed regularly in response to significant changes in the underlying assumptions, or at least every four years, given the fast pace of technological developments.

 

Recital 54

 

Member States that do not systematically deploy smart metering systems should allow consumers to benefit from the installation of a smart meter, upon request and under fair and reasonable conditions, and should provide them with all the relevant information. Where consumers do not have smart meters, they should be entitled to meters that fulfil the minimum requirements necessary to provide them with the billing information specified in this Directive.

 

Recital 55

 

In order to assist consumers' active participation in the electricity markets, the smart metering systems to be deployed by Member States in their territory should be interoperable, and should be able to provide data required for consumer energy management systems. To that end, Member States should have due regard to the use of relevant available standards, including standards that enable interoperability on the level of the data model and the application layer, to best practices and the importance of the development of data exchange, to future and innovative energy services, to the deployment of smart grids and to the internal market for electricity. Moreover, the smart metering systems that are deployed should not represent a barrier to switching supplier, and should be equipped with fit-for-purpose functionalities that allow consumers to have near real-time access to their consumption data, to modulate their energy consumption and, to the extent that the supporting infrastructure permits, to offer their flexibility to the network and to electricity undertakings and to be rewarded for it, and to obtain savings in their electricity bills.


Article 2(23)

 

'smart metering system’ means an electronic system that is capable of measuring electricity fed into the grid or electricity consumed from the grid, providing more information than a conventional meter, and that is capable of transmitting and receiving data for information, monitoring and control purposes, using a form of electronic communication

 

Article 19

Smart metering systems

 

  1. In order to promote energy efficiency and to empower final customers, Member States or, where a Member State has so provided, the regulatory authority shall strongly recommend that electricity undertakings and other market participants optimise the use of electricity, inter alia, by providing energy management services, developing innovative pricing formulas, and introducing smart metering systems that are interoperable, in particular with consumer energy management systems and with smart grids, in accordance with the applicable Union data protection rules.
  2. Member States shall ensure the deployment in their territories of smart metering systems that assist the active participation of customers in the electricity market. Such deployment may be subject to a cost-benefit assessment which shall be undertaken in accordance with the principles laid down in Annex II.
  3. Member States that proceed with the deployment of smart metering systems shall adopt and publish the minimum functional and technical requirements for the smart metering systems to be deployed in their territories, in accordance with Article 20 and Annex II. Member States shall ensure the interoperability of those smart metering systems, as well as their ability to provide output for consumer energy management systems. In that respect, Member States shall have due regard to the use of the relevant available standards, including those enabling interoperability, to best practices and to the importance of the development of smart grids and the development of the internal market for electricity.
  4. Member States that proceed with the deployment of smart metering systems shall ensure that final customers contribute to the associated costs of the deployment in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, while taking into account the long-term benefits to the whole value chain. Member States or, where a Member State has so provided, the designated competent authorities, shall regularly monitor such deployment in their territories to track the delivery of benefits to consumers.
  5. Where the deployment of smart metering systems has been negatively assessed as a result of the cost-benefit assessment referred to in paragraph 2, Member States shall ensure that this assessment is revised at least every four years, or more frequently, in response to significant changes in the underlying assumptions and in response to technological and market developments. Member States shall notify to the Commission the outcome of their updated cost-benefit assessment as it becomes available.
  6. The provisions in this Directive concerning smart metering systems shall apply to future installations and to installations that replace older smart meters. Smart metering systems that have already been installed, or for which the ‘start of works’ began, before 4 July 2019, may remain in operation over their lifetime but, in the case of smart metering systems that do not meet the requirements of Article 20 and Annex II, shall not remain in operation after 5 July 2031.


For the purpose of this paragraph, ‘start of works’ means either the start of construction works on the investment or the first firm commitment to order equipment or other commitment that makes the investment irreversible, whichever is the first in time. Buying of land and preparatory works such as obtaining permits and conducting preliminary feasibility studies are not considered as start of works. For take-overs, ‘start of works’ means the moment of acquiring the assets directly linked to the acquired establishment.


Article 20

Functionalities of smart metering systems

 

Where the deployment of smart metering systems is positively assessed as a result of the cost-benefit assessment referred to in Article 19(2), or where smart metering systems are systematically deployed after 4 July 2019, Member States shall deploy smart metering systems in accordance with European standards, Annex II and the following requirements:
(a) the smart metering systems shall accurately measure actual electricity consumption and shall be capable of providing to final customers information on actual time of use. Validated historical consumption data shall be made easily and securely available and visualised to final customers on request and at no additional cost. Non-validated near real-time consumption data shall also be made easily and securely available to final customers at no additional cost, through a standardised interface or through remote access, in order to support automated energy efficiency programmes, demand response and other services;
(b) the security of the smart metering systems and data communication shall comply with relevant Union security rules, having due regard of the best available techniques for ensuring the highest level of cybersecurity protection while bearing in mind the costs and the principle of proportionality;
(c) the privacy of final customers and the protection of their data shall comply with relevant Union data protection and privacy rules;
(d) meter operators shall ensure that the meters of active customers who feed electricity into the grid can account for electricity fed into the grid from the active customers' premises;
(e) if final customers request it, data on the electricity they fed into the grid and their electricity consumption data shall be made available to them, in accordance with the implementing acts adopted pursuant to Article 24, through a standardised communication interface or through remote access, or to a third party acting on their behalf, in an easily understandable format allowing them to compare offers on a like-for-like basis;
(f) appropriate advice and information shall be given to final customers prior to or at the time of installation of smart meters, in particular concerning their full potential with regard to the management of meter reading and the monitoring of energy consumption, and concerning the collection and processing of personal data in accordance with the applicable Union data protection rules;
(g) smart metering systems shall enable final customers to be metered and settled at the same time resolution as the imbalance settlement period in the national market.


For the purposes of point (e) of the first subparagraph, it shall be possible for final customers to retrieve their metering data or transmit them to another party at no additional cost and in accordance with their right to data portability under Union data protection rules.

Article 21

Entitlement to a smart meter

 

1. Where the deployment of smart metering systems has been negatively assessed as a result of the cost-benefit assessment referred to in Article 19(2) and where smart metering systems are not systematically deployed, Member States shall ensure that every final customer is entitled on request, while bearing the associated costs, to have installed or, where applicable, to have upgraded, under fair, reasonable and cost-effective conditions, a smart meter that:
(a) is equipped, where technically feasible, with the functionalities referred to in Article 20, or with a minimum set of functionalities to be defined and published by Member States at national level in accordance with Annex II;
(b) is interoperable and able to deliver the desired connectivity of the metering infrastructure with consumer energy management systems in near real-time.


2. In the context of a customer request for a smart meter pursuant to paragraph 1, Member States or, where a Member State has so provided, the designated competent authorities shall:
(a) ensure that the offer to the final customer requesting the installation of a smart meter explicitly states and clearly describes:
(i) the functions and interoperability that can be supported by the smart meter and the services that are feasible as well as the benefits that can be realistically attained by having that smart meter at that moment in time;
(ii) any associated costs to be borne by the final customer;
(b) ensure that it is installed within a reasonable time, no later than four months after the customer's request;
(c) regularly, and at least every two years, review and make publicly available the associated costs, and trace the evolution of those costs as a result of technology developments and potential metering system upgrades.


Article 22

Conventional meters

 

  1. Where final customers do not have smart meters, Member States shall ensure that final customers are provided with individual conventional meters that accurately measure their actual consumption.
  2. Member States shall ensure that final customers are able to easily read their conventional meters, either directly or indirectly through an online interface or through another appropriate interface.

 

Annex II

Smart metering systems

 

  1. Member States shall ensure the deployment of smart metering systems in their territories that may be subject to an economic assessment of all of the long-term costs and benefits to the market and the individual consumer or which form of smart metering is economically reasonable and cost-effective and which time frame is feasible for their distribution.
  2. Such assessment shall take into consideration the methodology for the cost-benefit analysis and the minimum functionalities for smart metering systems provided for in Commission Recommendation 2012/148/EU (1) as well as the best available techniques for ensuring the highest level of cybersecurity and data protection.
  3. Subject to that assessment, Member States or, where a Member State has so provided, the designated competent authority, shall prepare a timetable with a target of up to ten years for the deployment of smart metering systems. Where the deployment of smart metering systems is assessed positively, at least 80 % of final customers shall be equipped with smart meters either within seven years of the date of the positive assessment or by 2024 for those Member States that have initiated the systematic deployment of smart metering systems before 4 July 2019. 

 

 

 

 

Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018, Articles 9 - 11a

 

Article 9
Metering for gas and electricity

1. Member States shall ensure that, in so far as it is technically possible, financially reasonable and proportionate in relation to the potential energy savings, for electricity and natural gas final customers are provided with competitively priced individual meters that accurately reflect their actual energy consumption and that provide information on the actual time of use.

Such a competitively priced individual meter shall always be provided when:

(a) an existing meter is replaced, unless this is technically impossible or not cost-effective in relation to the estimated potential savings in the long term;

(b) a new connection is made in a new building or a building undergoes major renovations, as set out in Directive 2010/31/EU.

2. Where, and to the extent that, Member States implement intel­ligent metering systems and roll out smart meters for natural gas and/or electricity in accordance with Directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC:

(a) they shall ensure that the metering systems provide to final customers information on actual time of use and that the objectives of energy efficiency and benefits for final customers are fully taken into account when establishing the minimum functionalities of the meters and the obligations imposed on market participants;

(b) they shall ensure the security of the smart meters and data communication, and the privacy of final customers, in compliance with relevant Union data protection and privacy legislation;

(c) in the case of electricity and at the request of the final customer, they shall require meter operators to ensure that the meter or meters can account for electricity put into the grid from the final customer’s premises;

(d) they shall ensure that if final customers request it, metering data on their electricity input and off-take is made available to them or to a third party acting on behalf of the final customer in an easily under­standable format that they can use to compare deals on a like-for- like basis;

(e) they shall require that appropriate advice and information be given to customers at the time of installation of smart meters, in particular about their full potential with regard to meter reading management and the monitoring of energy consumption.

 

Article 9a
Metering for heating, cooling and domestic hot water

1. Member States shall ensure that, for district heating, district cooling and domestic hot water, final customers are provided with competitively priced meters that accurately reflect their actual energy consumption.

2. Where heating, cooling or domestic hot water is supplied to a building from a central source that services multiple buildings or from a district heating or district cooling system, a meter shall be installed at the heat exchanger or point of delivery.

 

Article 9b
Sub-metering and cost allocation for heating, cooling and domestic hot water

1. In multi-apartment and multi-purpose buildings with a central heating or central cooling source or supplied from a district heating or district cooling system, individual meters shall be installed to measure the consumption of heating, cooling or domestic hot water for each building unit, where technically feasible and cost effective in terms of being proportionate in relation to the potential energy savings.

Where the use of individual meters is not technically feasible or where it is not cost-efficient to measure heat consumption in each building unit, individual heat cost allocators shall be used to measure heat consumption at each radiator unless it is shown by the Member State in question that the installation of such heat cost allocators would not be cost-efficient. In those cases, alternative cost-efficient methods of heat consumption measurement may be considered. The general criteria, methodologies and/or procedures to determine technical non-feasibility and non-cost effectiveness shall be clearly set out and published by each Member State.

2. In new multi-apartment buildings and in residential parts of new multi-purpose buildings that are equipped with a central heating source for domestic hot water or are supplied from district heating systems, individual meters shall, notwithstanding the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, be provided for domestic hot water.

3. Where multi-apartment or multi-purpose buildings are supplied from district heating or district cooling, or where own common heating or cooling systems for such buildings are prevalent, Member States shall ensure they have in place transparent, publicly available national rules on the allocation of the cost of heating, cooling and domestic hot water consumption in such buildings to ensure trans­parency and accuracy of accounting for individual consumption. Where appropriate, such rules shall include guidelines on the manner in which to allocate cost for energy that is used as follows:

(a) domestic hot water;

(b) heat radiated from the building installation and for the purpose of heating the common areas, where staircases and corridors are equipped with radiators;

(c) for the purpose of heating or cooling apartments.

 

Article 9c
Remote reading requirement

1. For the purposes of Articles 9a and 9b, meters and heat cost allocators installed after 25 October 2020 shall be remotely readable devices. The conditions of technical feasibility and cost effectiveness set out in Article 9b(1) shall continue to apply.

2. Meters and heat cost allocators which are not remotely readable but which have already been installed shall be rendered remotely readable or replaced with remotely readable devices by 1 January 2027, save where the Member State in question shows that this is not cost-efficient.

 

Article 10
Billing information for gas and electricity

1. Where final customers do not have smart meters as referred to in Directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC, Member States shall ensure, by 31 December 2014, that billing information is reliable, accurate and based on actual consumption, in accordance with point 1.1 of Annex VII, for electricity and gas, where that is technically possible and economically justified.

This obligation may be fulfilled by a system of regular self-reading by the final customers whereby they communicate readings from their meter to the energy supplier. Only when the final customer has not provided a meter reading for a given billing interval shall billing be based on estimated consumption or a flat rate.

2. Meters installed in accordance with Directives 2009/72/EC and 2009/73/EC shall enable accurate billing information based on actual consumption. Member States shall ensure that final customers have the possibility of easy access to complementary information on historical consumption allowing detailed self-checks.

Complementary information on historical consumption shall include:

(a) cumulative data for at least the three previous years or the period since the start of the supply contract if this is shorter. The data shall correspond to the intervals for which frequent billing information has been produced; and

(b) detailed data according to the time of use for any day, week, month and year. These data shall be made available to the final customer via the internet or the meter interface for the period of at least the previous 24 months or the period since the start of the supply contract if this is shorter.

3. Independently of whether smart meters have been installed or not, Member States:

(a) shall require that, to the extent that information on the energy billing and historical consumption of final customers is available, it be made available, at the request of the final customer, to an energy service provider designated by the final customer;

(b) shall ensure that final customers are offered the option of electronic billing information and bills and that they receive, on request, a clear and understandable explanation of how their bill was derived, especially where bills are not based on actual consumption;

(c) shall ensure that appropriate information is made available with the bill to provide final customers with a comprehensive account of current energy costs, in accordance with Annex VII;

(d) may lay down that, at the request of the final customer, the information contained in these bills shall not be considered to constitute a request for payment. In such cases, Member States shall ensure that suppliers of energy sources offer flexible arrangements for actual payments;

(e) shall require that information and estimates for energy costs are provided to consumers on demand in a timely manner and in an easily understandable format enabling consumers to compare deals on a like-for-like basis.

 

Article 10a
Billing and consumption information for heating, cooling and domestic hot water

1. Where meters or heat cost allocators are installed, Member States shall ensure that billing and consumption information is reliable, accurate and based on actual consumption or heat cost allocator readings, in accordance with points 1 and 2 of Annex VIIa for all final users, namely for natural or legal persons purchasing heating, cooling or domestic hot water for their own end-use, or natural or legal persons occupying an individual building or a unit in a multi-apartment or multi-purpose building supplied with heating, cooling or domestic hot water from a central source who has no direct or indi­vidual contract with the energy supplier.

This obligation may, where a Member State so provides, save in the case of sub-metered consumption based on heat cost allocators under Article 9b, be fulfilled by a system of regular self-reading by the final customer or final user whereby they communicate readings from their meter. Only where the final customer or final user has not provided a meter reading for a given billing interval shall billing be based on estimated consumption or a flat rate.

2. Member States shall:

(a) require that, if information on the energy billing and historical consumption or heat cost allocator readings of final users is available, it be made available upon request by the final user, to an energy service provider designated by the final user;

(b) ensure that final customers are offered the option of electronic billing information and bills;

(c) ensure that clear and comprehensible information is provided with the bill to all final users in accordance with point 3 of Annex VIIa; and

(d) promote cybersecurity and ensure the privacy and data protection of final users in accordance with applicable Union law.

Member States may provide that, at the request of the final customer, the provision of billing information shall not be considered to constitute a request for payment. In such cases, Member States shall ensure that flexible arrangements for actual payment are offered.

3. Member States shall decide who is to be responsible for providing the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 to final users without a direct or individual contract with an energy supplier.

 

Article 11
Cost of access to metering and billing information for electricity and gas

Member States shall ensure that final customers receive all their bills and billing information for energy consumption free of charge and that final customers have access to their consumption data in an appropriate way and free of charge.

 

Article 11a
Cost of access to metering and billing and consumption information for heating, cooling and domestic hot water

1. Member States shall ensure that final users receive all their bills and billing information for energy consumption free of charge and that final users have access to their consumption data in an appropriate way and free of charge.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, the distribution of costs of billing information for the individual consumption of heating, cooling and domestic hot water in multi-apartment and multi-purpose buildings pursuant to Article 9b shall be carried out on a non-profit basis. Costs resulting from the assignment of that task to a third party, such as a service provider or the local energy supplier, covering the measuring, allocation and accounting for actual individual consumption in such buildings, may be passed onto the final users to the extent that such costs are reasonable.

3. In order to ensure reasonable costs for sub-metering services as referred to in paragraph 2, Member States may stimulate competition in that service sector by taking appropriate measures, such as recom­mending or otherwise promoting the use of tendering and/or the use of interoperable devices and systems facilitating switching between service providers. 

 

 
 
Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the internal market for electricity (recast) on common rules for the internal market in electricity (recast), 30.11.2016, COM(2016) 864 final 2016/0380 (COD)).
 
Article 2(18)
 
'smart metering system' means an electronic system that can measure energy consumption, providing more information than a conventional meter, and can transmit and receive data for information, monitoring and control purposes, using a form of electronic communication.
 
Article 19
Smart metering
 
1. In order to promote energy efficiency and empower customers, Member States or, where a Member State has so provided, the regulatory authority shall strongly recommend that electricity undertakings and aggregators optimise the use of electricity, inter alia by providing energy management services, developing innovative pricing formulas, or introducing interoperable smart metering systems or smart grids, where appropriate.
 
2. Member States shall ensure the implementation of smart metering systems in their territories that shall assist the active participation of customers in the electricity market. Such implementation may be subject to a cost-benefit assessment which shall be undertaken according to the principles laid down in Annex III.
 
3. Member States that proceed with deployment shall adopt and publish the minimum functional and technical requirements for the smart metering systems to be rolled out in their territories in line with the provisions laid down in Article 20 and Annex III. Member States shall ensure the interoperability of these smart metering systems as well as their connectivity with consumer energy management platforms. To this respect, Member States shall have due regard to the use of relevant available standards including those enabling interoperability, best practices and the importance of the development of the internal market in electricity.
 
4. Member States that proceed with smart metering deployment shall ensure that final customers contribute to the associated costs of the roll-out in a transparent and non- discriminatory manner. Member States shall regularly monitor this deployment in their territories to track the evolution of costs and benefits for the whole value chain,including the delivery of net benefits to consumers.
 
5. When the deployment of smart metering is negatively assessed as a result of cost-benefit assessment referred to in paragraph 2, Member States shall ensure that this assessment is revised periodically in response to changes in the underlying assumptions and to technology and market developments. Member States shall notify to the responsible Commission services the outcome of their updated economic assessment as it becomes available.
 
Article 20
Smart metering functionalities
 
Where smart metering is positively assessed as a result of cost-benefit assessment referred to in Article 19(2), or systematically rolled out, Member States shall implement smart metering systems in accordance with European standards, the provisions in Annex III, and in line with the following principles:
 
(a) the metering systems accurately measure actual electricity consumption and provide to final customers information on actual time of use. That information shall be made easily available and visualised to final customers at no additional cost and at near-real time in order to support automated energy efficiency programmes, demand response and other services;
 
(b) the security of the smart metering systems and data communication is ensured in compliance with relevant European Union security legislation having due regard of the best available techniques for ensuring the highest level of cybersecurity protection;
 
(c) the privacy and data protection of final customers is ensured in compliance with relevant Union data protection and privacy legislation;
 
(d) meter operators shall ensure that the meter or meters of active customers who self-generate electricity can account for electricity put into the grid from the active customers' premises;
 
(e) if final customers request it, metering data on their electricity input and off-take shall be made available to them, via a local standardised communication interface and/or remote access, or to a third party acting on their behalf, in an easily understandable format as provided for in Article 24, allowing them to compare deals on a like-for-like basis;
 
(f) appropriate advice and information shall be given to final customers at the time of
installation of smart meters, in particular about their full potential with regard to meter reading management and the monitoring of energy consumption, and on the collection and processing of personal data in accordance with the applicable Union data protection legislation;
 
(g) smart metering systems shall enable final customers to be metered and settled at the same time resolution as the imbalance period in the national market.
 
Article 21
Entitlement to a smart meter
 
1. Where smart metering is negatively assessed as a result of cost-benefit assessment referred to in Article 19(2), nor systematically rolled out, Member States shall ensure that every final customer is entitled to have installed or, where applicable, to have upgraded, on request and under fair and reasonable conditions, a smart meter that complies with the following requirements:
 
(a) is equipped where technically feasible with functionalities referred to in Article 20, or with a minimum set of functionalities to be defined and published by Member States at national level and in line with the provisions in Annex III,
 
(b) is interoperable and able to deliver the desired connectivity of the metering infrastructure with consumer energy management systems in near-real time.
 
2. In the context of a customer request for a smart meter pursuant to paragraph 1, Member States or, where a Member State has so provided, the designated competent authorities shall:
 
(a) ensure that the offer to the final customer requesting the installation of a smart meter explicitly states and clearly describes:
– the functions and interoperability that can be supported by the smart meter and the services that are feasible as well as the benefits that can be realistically attained by having that smart meter at that moment in time;
– any associated costs to be borne by the final customer;
 
(b) ensure that it is installed within a reasonable time and no later than three months after the customer's request;
 
(c) regularly, and at least every two years, review and make publicly available the associated costs, and trace their evolution as a result of technology developments and potential metering system upgrades.
 
Article 22
Conventional metering
 
1. Where final customers do not have smart meters, Member States shall ensure that they are provided with individual conventional meters that accurately measure their actual consumption.
2. Member States shall ensure that final customers are able to easily read their conventional meters, either directly or indirectly through an on-line interface or through another appropriate interface.
 
Annex III
Smart Meters
 
1. Member States shall ensure the implementation of intelligent metering system in their territories that may be subject to an economic assessment of all the long-term costs and benefits to the market and the individual consumer or which form of smart metering is economically reasonable and cost-effective and which timeframe is 
feasible for their distribution.

2. Such assessment shall take into consideration the methodology for a cost-benefit analysis and the minimum functionalities for smart metering defined in the Commission Recommendation 2012/148/EU as well as best available techniques for ensuring the highest level of cybersecurity and data protection.

3. Subject to that assessment, Member States or, where a Member State has so provided, the designed competent authority, shall prepare a timetable with a target of up to 10 years for the deployment of smart metering systems. Where roll- out of smart meters is assessed positively, at least 80 % of final customers shall be equipped with smart metering systems within 8 years from the date of their positive assessment or by 2020 for those Member States that have initiated deployment before entering into force of this Directive.
 
Recitals 33 - 36 
 
(33) Engaging consumers requires appropriate incentives and technologies such as smart metering. Smart metering systems empower consumers as they allow them to receive accurate and near-real time feedback on their energy consumption or generation allowing them to manage it better, participate in and reap benefits from demand side response programmes and other services, and lower their electricity bill. Smart metering also enables distribution system operators to have better visibility of their networks, and consequently reduce their operation and maintenance costs and pass those savings to the distribution tariffs which are ultimately borne by consumers.
 
(34) When it comes to deciding at national level on the smart metering deployment, it should be possible to base this on an economic assessment. Should that assessment conclude that the introduction of such metering systems is economically reasonable and cost-effective only for consumers with a certain amount of electricity consumption, Member States should be able to take that into account when proceeding with implementation.
 
(35) Member States that are not systematically rolling out smart metering should give the possibility to consumers to benefit, upon request and under fair and reasonable conditions, and by providing them with all the relevant information, from the installation of an electricity smart meter. Where consumers do not have smart meters, they should be entitled to meters that fulfil the minimum requirements necessary to provide them with the billing information specified in this Directive.
 
(36) In order to assist consumers' active participation in the electricity market, the smart metering systems to be deployed by Member States in their territory should be interoperable, not represent a barrier to switching of supplier, and should be equipped with fit-for-purpose functionalities that allow consumers to have near-real time access to their consumption data, modulate their energy consumption and, to the extent that the supporting infrastructure permits, offer their flexibility to the network and to energy services companies, be rewarded for it, and achieve savings in their electricity
bill.
 
 

 

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