How is the German Smart Meter Rollout Progressing?

Already in 2009, the Smart Meter Rollout has been identified by the European Union as a prerequisite for the energy transition [1]. The development of the german Smart Meter (the so called “intelligentes Messsystem”, short iMSys), composed of a modern metering device and a so called smart meter gateway, is significantly delayed when compared to other European countries. However, the year 2024 has marked a rapid uptake of the rollout, with the symbolic milestone of one million installed iMSys reached in September 2024 [2]. 

According to § 45 of the Messstellenbetriebsgesetz (MsbG), or Metering Point Operation Act in English, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur, BNetzA) publishes quarterly figures on the status of the German iMSys rollout [3]. We plan to document and comment the development of the rollout figures in regular news articles. 

This is the second article in this series, which analyses the figures of March 31. 2025 and compares them with the figures of December 31. 2024.

Distinction between mandatory and voluntary iMSys-installations

Currently, only a fraction of the approximately 54 million metering points are affected by the smart meter rollout. End customers who either have a yearly consumption between 6.000 and 100.000 kWh, or who possess a controllable consumption device as defined and regulated by § 14a EnWG must be equipped with an iMSys. Currently, this represents approximately 4.6 Mio. metering points (9 %) in Germany. 

The responsibility for the installation of the iMSys lies with so called “basic” metering point operators (gMSB). Additionally, customers have the option to request a voluntary installation of the iMSys. In this case, the installation can be carried out either by the gMSB or by competitive metering point operators (wMSB). 

The MsbG (Metering Point Operation Act) prescribes a rollout plan that obliges the gMSB to adhere to rollout quotas concerning mandatory installation cases. For example, by the end of 2025, 20 % of all mandatory installation cases must be equipped with an iMSys. By 2032, 90 % should be reached. 

Evaluation of the Data from the Bundesnetzagentur

The figures from the Federal Network Agency only refer to mandatory installation cases and thus only concern the gMSB. For Q4 2024, data from 835 of the total 851 gMSB were collected. 

As of March 31, 2025, the gMSB had collectively installed a total of 700,000 intelligent metering systems (iMSys), corresponding to an installation rate of 15.1% for mandatory installation cases. At the end of 2024, this figure was 639,000 (13.9%). As can be seen from Table 1, the number of mandatory installation cases is increasing in parallel with the number of installed iMSys. Therefore, it is still necessary to accelerate the rollout pace to reach the 20% mark defined in the MsbG by the end of 2025 on a national average. 

Table 1: Evolution of the state of mandatory Smart Meter installations between December 2024 and March 2025 [3] 

Furthermore, there are significant differences between the metering point operators. At the end of 2024, more than 340 German gMSB had not installed a single iMSys. As of March 31, 2025, this number has reduced to 272. Nevertheless, currently, 446 gMSB still have an installation rate below 2%, raising legitimate doubts about their ability to reach the 20% mark by the end of the year. 

At the other end of the spectrum, 57 gMSB already have an installation rate of over 20% – 15 more than at the end of 2024. 

Figure 1: Equipment rate of the German gMSB as of March 31, 2024 [3] 

As also identified by the Federal Network Agency and mentioned in the last report, these differences are strongly correlated with the size of the gMSB. For gMSB operating more than 500,000 metering locations, the installation rate is already at an average of 20.4% (end of 2024, 19.9%). In contrast, for gMSB with fewer than 30,000 metering locations, the rate is 4.6% (end of 2024, 3.1%). 

Evaluation of voluntary installation cases

In addition to the figures for mandatory installation cases, the Federal Network Agency also provides aggregated figures for the overall smart meter rollout. This is still below a 3% installation rate, far behind other European countries. 

From these figures, conclusions can be drawn about voluntary installation cases, which are presented in Table 2. 

Table 2: Comparison of the Smart Meter Rollouts in Q4 2024 und Q1 2025 with focus on voluntary installations [3]. 

Between January and March 2025, 318,000 intelligent metering systems (iMSys) were installed as part of voluntary installations, according to the data (almost exclusively gMSB), 4.5 times as many as the basic metering point operators (gMSB) in the same period. This clearly shows that voluntary installations are currently driving the German smart meter rollout. Two points can be highlighted here. 

Firstly, this confirms that customers not affected by mandatory installation cases are also interested in smart meters. These customers should be considered in the smart meter debates – especially since mandatory installation cases currently only affect 9% of end customers. Even without controllable consumption devices as defined in § 14a EnWG, they offer valuable flexibility potential for the energy system [4]. Additionally, these customers often want to benefit from innovative and cheaper electricity products that can only be offered with smart meters. It is important that the installation of smart meters in the context of voluntary installations is as affordable and straightforward as possible. 

Secondly, these figures suggest that some gMSB have built up competence in the area of smart meter rollout, particularly in planning and coordinating the installation and adapting digital processes, more quickly than other, mostly small gMSB. It should be discussed to what extent these “faster” gMSB (or other wMSB) could also take over the mandatory installation of smart meters on behalf of “slower” gMSB. Bundling the smart meter rollout to a smaller number of larger actors and leveraging the corresponding synergies could lead to an acceleration of the rollout and a reduction in costs. 

Conclusion and Outlook 

Compared to our last evaluation, it is clear that the smart meter rollout in Germany is gaining momentum. Nevertheless, the rollout rates remain extremely low compared to other countries. It remains to be seen whether exponential growth will actually occur in the coming months and years. 

It is already clear that a significant proportion of gMSB will not meet the installation rate defined by the Metering Point Operation Act (MsbG) by the end of 2025. From our perspective, it would be desirable to create clarity in this regard. On the one hand, clear rules should be defined for non-compliance with obligations (e.g., penalties). On the other hand, a framework could be created that allows for (or mandates) the bundling of gMSB or the outsourcing of obligations to wMSB. Further assistance for small gMSB would also be possible and probably desirable.

In this context, it would be very helpful for monitoring the overall rollout of smart meters to be able to collect and evaluate not only the current data from the BNetzA but also the installation figures from the wMSB in Germany. 

The FfE actively follows this topic, as many developments we are working on in our research projects, such as BDL-Next with our partners, will only become viable on a large scale with sufficient digitalization. Smart meters are the backbone of a flexible energy system, and delays in the installation of smart meters harm all stakeholders, including end customers. 

For this reason, we are also constantly examining developments in other European countries. If you have any questions about intelligent metering systems in Germany or abroad, we are happy to assist you

References: 

[1] Smart Metering deployment in the European Union | JRC SES 

[2] BMWK – Bundesrat bestätigt Änderungen für schnelleren Smart-Meter-Rollout 

[3] Bundesnetzagentur  – Roll-out intelligente Messsysteme: Quartalsweise Erhebungen 

[4] Flexibilitäts-Check – Gemeinsame Studie von E.ON und der Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft (FfE) zum Potenzial flexibler Energienutzung in deutschen Haushalten