How is the German Smart Meter Rollout Progressing?
Evaluation of the rollout as of December 31. 2024
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.
Distinction between mandatory and voluntary iMSys-installations
Currently, only a fraction of the approximately 53 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 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 826 of the total 875 gMSB were collected.
Combined, these operators had installed nearly 640,000 iMSys as of December 31, 2024, which corresponds to an equipment rate of 13.9 %. At first glance, the 20 % equipment rate by the end of 2025 appears to be an ambitious but achievable goal.
| Metering Points | Installed iMSys | Equipment rate | |
| Mandatory installations (gMSB) | 4.596.673 | 639.189 | 13,91 % |
| All installations (all MSB) | 53.215.269 | 1.158.745 | 2,18 % |
Table 1: Key Points of the German Smart Meter Rollout, as of December 31. 2024 [3]
However, significant differences between the metering point operators are evident. As shown in Figure 1, more than half of the German gMSB had not installed a single iMSys by the end of 2024. At the other end of the spectrum, 44 gMSB already have an equipment rate of over 20 %, with three of them even reaching the range of 80 – 100 %.
As identified by the BNetzA, these differences are strongly correlated with the size of the gMSB [3]. For gMSB that operate over 500,000 metering points, the average equipment rate is already at 19.9 %. In contrast, for gMSB with fewer than 30,000 metering points, the rate is just 3.1 %.
Conclusion and Outlook
It is generally evident that digitalization poses a particular challenge for small actors in the energy system. Unfortunately, delays in the Smart Meter rollout are extremely problematic both for end customers and from an energy system perspective.
We are waiting to see if the affected metering point operators can achieve their equipment targets by the end of the year and how the BNetzA will respond if they do not. It is possible that the Smart Meter rollout will cause or accelerate the exit of numerous small market players, leading to a concentration of the market on a reduced number of larger players, as is already the case in most European countries.
Also interesting is the question of voluntary installation cases. In fact, the Smart Meter rollout in Germany, when considering all metering points, is currently just over 2 %. To advance the energy transition, customers who are not subject to mandatory installation should also be easily equipped with an iMSys – for example, to benefit from dynamic tariffs and thus make a critical contribution to the integration of renewable energies into the energy system and to smoothing energy prices.
For the installation of an iMSys outside of mandatory installation, MSB may charge a one-time fee in addition to the annual costs for iMSys operation according to § 35 MsbG. Currently, many MSB charge significantly more than the price cap of 100 € defined in the MsbG for early installation. It remains to be seen how the regulator will position itself in the coming months or years to bring together the interests of all stakeholders and accelerate the rollout.
The FfE actively follows this topic, as many developments we are working on with our partners in our research projects (such as BDL-Next), will only become mass-market capable under the condition of sufficient digitalization. For this reason, we also constantly examine developments in other European countries. If you have any questions about intelligent metering systems in Germany or abroad, we are happy to assist you.
