Flemish government wants to introduce smart energy meters from 2019

The Flemish government is preparing to introduce smart energy meters in 2019. That is what the Flemish Minister for Energy said in parliament. Grid operators are already preparing for the introduction of digital energy meters.

From 1 January 2019, all Flemish households must receive the new digital energy meters, says the Flemish Minister for Energy Bart Tommelein according to Datanews. “We are certainly not the first in the class, but the last in Europe. So there is no more time to lose. I will do everything I can to meet the proposed target date of 1 January 2019 as the official start of the roll-out of the digital meters to get.”

Tommelein claims that network operators are already preparing for the introduction, although there are still some issues to be worked out. For example, owners of solar panels fear that they will be disadvantaged by digital meters, which, unlike analog meters, do not decrease when households supply electricity to the grid. According to the minister, there is a solution for that. “Someone who invests in solar panels, even if that is with a rollback counter being abolished, will clearly end up in a system that will still remain profitable.”

It is also unknown who will pay for the purchase of the meters. The smart energy meter has its own internet connection and can therefore independently transmit meter readings to the energy company. Users also gain insight into their own energy consumption via, for example, an app, which should make saving energy easier.