Bayernwerk controls without a control box

19.12.2025

Source: E & M powernews

Bayernwerk has completed a series of tests in which flexibilities were controlled directly from the smart meter gateway and without a control box.

Together with the smart meter gateway manufacturer PPC, Bayernwerk Netz GmbH has demonstrated that switching commands can be transmitted even without control boxes installed between smart metering systems and consumption or generation systems. Other project partners were Westenergie Metering and the IT company Robotron.

According to a statement from the distribution grid operator from the Eon Group, the company has been pursuing the idea of integrating the control logic directly into the smart meter gateway since 2019. Bayernwerk had also carried out corresponding tests as part of the "BDL" (bidirectional charging) research project.

With the publication of the protection profile PP-0073 version 2.0 by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) on December 13, 2024, it was then officially permitted to receive control commands in the smart meter gateway and forward them locally, according to a statement from the grid operator. This would be based on the EEBUS communication standard.

In tests between September and October 2025, around 1,100 control commands were then successfully transmitted via PPC's smart meter gateway. According to Bayernwerk, the success rate was 99.63 percent. The future backend infrastructure was also used in an end-to-end process.

Certification of the necessary software stack at the SMGW manufacturers is now set to begin in early 2026, the press release continues. Following corresponding software updates, the functionality could be used on a large scale from mid-2026.

"With the successful test series, we have laid the foundations for standardization that brings measurement and control together," says Joachim Kabs. According to the Managing Director of Bayernwerk Netz, a reduction in hardware and interfaces also goes hand in hand with a reduction in complexity in households. This makes the energy transition "simpler, safer and more efficient on a small scale", which accelerates implementation.

The results show that both solutions with a control box and without a control box are possible. The majority of smart meter gateways installed in the Bayernwerk grid area are ready for this control logic.

Author: Fritz Wilhelm