75% smart meter coverage by 2033: New study outlines two pathways for Germany’s digital metering infrastructure

Munich, 1 September 2026 – A cross-sector consortium led by FfE outlines two potential development pathways for the digitalisation of approximately 60 million metering locations in Germany. The study identifies 21 measures to accelerate the ongoing smart meter rollout and reduce costs. These measures concern, among other aspects, greater planning certainty, simpler and interoperable processes, and increased cooperation among metering point operators. The main barriers are not primarily related to metering technology itself, but to processes, IT interoperability and planning certainty. The benefits of smart meters will materialise only if data become available to customers and market actors.

The Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft (FfE), together with companies and organisations along the smart meter value chain, has published the final report “Future Pathway Smart Meter – Measures to Accelerate the Expansion of Digital Metering Infrastructure in Germany”.

The consortium included decarbon1ze GmbH, enercity Netz GmbH, Hochfrequenz Unternehmensberatung GmbH, metiundo GmbH, MINcom Smart Solutions GmbH, N-ERGIE AG, Octopus Energy Germany GmbH, peerMetering GmbH, Stadtwerk Haßfurt GmbH, Tibber Deutschland GmbH, Verbraucherzentrale Bayern e.V., Verbraucherzentrale NRW e.V. and Zenner International GmbH & Co. KG. The objective was to identify key challenges associated with the German smart meter rollout, discuss possible solution spaces and derive concrete recommendations for policymakers, regulators and industry stakeholders.

Background. The work of the consortium is situated in the broader context of the digitalisation of Germany’s metering infrastructure, which is increasingly becoming a key prerequisite for the energy transition. Smart meters provide the basis for dynamic electricity tariffs, the integration of flexibility, improved transparency regarding electricity consumption and feed-in, and further digitalisation and automation of energy-sector processes.

At the same time, Germany faces a strategic decision point. At the European level, binding minimum targets for smart meter deployment are being discussed for the first time. According to these discussions, at least 50% of metering locations should be digitalised by 2030 and at least 75% by 2033. With the current installation rate at only 5.5%, there is limited time to define the future direction. This brings into focus the question of how the digitalisation of metering infrastructure can be designed beyond today’s mandatory installation cases.

This gives rise to two central research questions:

• How can efficiency in the current rollout of intelligent metering systems be increased, and how can costs be reduced?
• How can the digitalisation of metering infrastructure be designed beyond today’s mandatory installation cases, and which long-term target vision should Germany pursue?

Twenty-one measures for policymakers and the energy sector

In total, the report identifies 21 measures to accelerate the smart meter rollout. These can be grouped into four overarching fields of action:

1.Strengthen planning certainty

From the perspective of the participating stakeholders, the most important prerequisite for further investment is a clear political target vision. The report recommends an early definition of the long-term rollout strategy as well as reliable and clearly specified deployment targets in order to provide planning certainty for metering point operators, grid operators and technology providers.

2. Reduce complexity and strengthen interoperability and scalability

A key lever lies in simplifying technical and regulatory processes. In particular, greater use of standardised data formats and a reduction of existing process complexity could make operation, market communication and error handling substantially more efficient. Robust and interoperable IT systems are also a prerequisite for scaling the rollout.

3. Focus on customer benefits

The benefits of smart meters, including dynamic tariffs, the integration of flexibility and transparency regarding consumption and feed-in, do not arise from the rollout alone. It is equally important that data are actually available to customers and energy-sector actors and can be used to create added value. A stronger customer focus, both in communication and in processes, is therefore central to improving acceptance of the rollout and realising its benefits.

4. Make digitalisation beyond the current mandatory rollout attractive

In order to achieve the long-term deployment targets, timely decisions are required on how metering locations outside the current mandatory rollout should be digitalised. The report contrasts two fundamental future pathways for this purpose.