Renewed criticism of price caps in smart metering

04.02.2025

Source: E & M powernews

With the current amendments to the Metering Point Operation Act, the upper price limit for voluntary smart meter installation has been adjusted, among other things.

It is now official. After a majority of the Bundestag approved the draft "Act to amend the Energy Industry Act to avoid temporary generation surpluses" on January 31, 2025, several amendments to the Metering Point Operation Act have also come into effect.

One regulation concerns the price caps for the optional installation of smart metering systems. According to this, metering point operators may charge a one-off fee of up to EUR 100 for the early installation of a metering point that already falls into the category of mandatory installations based on annual consumption. If a customer who does not fall into one of the mandatory installation categories requests installation, the metering point operator may charge an additional annual fee of EUR 30. Previously, the costs for customers who did not fall into any of the mandatory installation categories were limited to a one-off charge of EUR 30 and an annual charge of EUR 20.

After the law was passed, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations renewed its criticism of the regulation. Tom Janneck, Head of Energy and Building, speaks of a "drastic increase in the cost of installation at the customer's request". This sends out the "wrong signal". "Private households will not only find it more difficult to access dynamic electricity tariffs, but also to keep track of their own electricity consumption," says Janneck. Against this backdrop, he calls for "measures that enable this consumer group to participate in the energy transition in a cost-effective and secure manner" in a statement from the association.

Criticism from providers of dynamic tariffs

The mandatory installation cases, which are particularly relevant for households, are defined by an annual consumption of between 6,000 and 10,000 kWh. The costs for a corresponding metering point may not exceed 120 euros gross per year, of which a maximum of 80 euros must be borne by the grid operator and a maximum of 40 euros by the connection user. Operators of generation plants with an installed capacity of more than 7 kW are also subject to the mandatory installation cases.

The metering point operators have been campaigning for an increase in the upper price limits for years and have repeatedly argued that the upper price limits are not adequate. In addition, the optional installation poses logistical challenges for metering point operators and makes it almost impossible to optimize installation routes and therefore costs.

On the other hand, consumer advocates and providers of dynamic tariffs have repeatedly denounced the adjustment of the price caps. Since last fall, the so-called Smart Meter Initiative, to which Octopus Energy, Rabot Charge, Tibber and Ostrom have joined forces, has repeatedly complained that the large-scale rollout of smart metering systems has been hindered. The companies, which describe themselves as "digital green energy providers" and have focused their business models heavily on dynamic tariffs, had emphasized that anyone ordering a smart metering system on an optional basis should not be financially burdened more than someone who is upgraded to such a system as part of the mandatory rollout.

Proponents of increasing the price cap for voluntary installation argue that e-mobility users, heat pump users and PV system operators generally fall into the mandatory installation categories anyway. In addition, households with low consumption would hardly have any potential for load shifting and therefore hardly any grid-beneficial flexibility potential, which is precisely what dynamic tariffs are aimed at.

Author: Fritz Wilhelm