Why is the European Commission backing smart meters?

Tuesday 5th April 2011

The European Commission (EC) recently announced it is betting on smart metering and tougher power consumption rules for electronics to help get Europe on track to meet its energy efficiency targets. The EC also highlighted that if Europe continues its current consumption patterns, it would achieve only half of its target of improving energy efficiency by 20 per cent by 2020.

While it’s encouraging that the EC has recognised the need to boost its energy savings efforts, as the energy commissioner Günther Oettinger pointed out, the EU will need to take decisive and coordinated action on energy efficiency in order to reach its 2020 goals.

According to the commission, smart grids and smart meters will serve as a backbone for this approach, enabling smart appliances and energy usage.

But, while I agree that smart meters have a key to play in helping European governments, utility providers and energy users better manage power consumption, they need to get smarter still. For the smart meter roll-outs to be an effective catalyst to energy efficiency, they will have to provide energy users with access to in-depth data on energy usage at an individual appliance level.

Trials are underway across the UK, including an in-depth study currently being run by Navetas. But it waits to be seen whether the current approach to smart meters goes far enough. Accurate billing and a simple display will give some benefit to UK households, but in my view, disaggregation technology is critical to maximise the effectiveness of smart metering across Europe and the resulting energy savings. A thorough understanding of energy consumption patterns will empower governments, utility provider, businesses, the industrial sector and households across Europe with the ability to initiate lasting changes in behaviour to ensure the EC achieves its energy efficiency targets

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