Stedin wants to read smart meters of solar panel owners for information on the power grid
Stedin wants to read the smart meters of a number of customers with solar panels during a few weeks in the summer. According to Stedin, this is necessary to see where adjustments are needed, so that customers ‘are guaranteed to continue to receive and supply power in the future’.
The grid operator has sent e-mails to its customers for this. A company spokesperson says 100,000 customers have been asked this question. In the e-mail, Stedin asks for permission to read the smart meters of the owners of solar panels ‘extra’. It is likely that most of the customers approached have granted limited or no permission to read their smart meters when concluding their energy contract.
According to Stedin, the reading of the smart meters is a one-off action and this must take place in the coming month, in the period from 11 June to 1 July. According to the company, these are the days with the most sunshine hours of the year. The company says that reading the meters provides data about where the power grid needs adjustments. During this summer period, due to the amount of sunshine hours and the intensity of the sun, a relatively large amount of electricity will be generated, which will then be fed back at least partly via the grid.
The data will have to give the company more insight into the amount of power that the local network has to process and how high the voltage is. According to Stedin, such information is necessary to be able to anticipate a future scenario in which many more customers have solar panels on their roofs and thus generate their own electricity, whereby more electricity is also required by, for example, heat pumps and electric cars. The grid operator wants to see where there are weak spots in the power grid and where the capacity needs to be increased, so that it can be reinforced in certain places with more cables.
The approached customers are not obliged to participate and therefore do not have to give permission. Those who do receive a guarantee from Stedin that their individual data will be deleted by 31 December at the latest.