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The conversion of electricity meters to smart meters is extremely slow in Austria. Originally 80 percent of meters were scheduled to be replaced by “smart” metering devices by the end of this year, in fact it will be a maximum of 31 percent, says energy regulator E-Control. “With the figures now released, this year’s crown crisis still does not play a role,” says Andreas Eigenbauer, a member of the E-Control board.
“The reasons for the delays were, among other things, technical problems, increased data protection and security requirements, and costly procurement procedures,” the energy regulator writes. “The plans presented for the next few years do not suggest that the introduction of smart meters can be fully completed in the next two or three years.”
At the end of 2019, 1.4 million of the total of around 6.2 million affected count points were equipped with a smart meter. This corresponds to a coverage rate of 22.2 per cent across the sterling region.
“On the contrary, there are some network operators who are almost completely on time with the rollout,” says Wolfgang Urbantschitsch, a member of the E-Control board. “These include Netz Obersterreich with an implementation rate of 92 percent, Linz Netz with 74 percent, Wels Strom with 71 percent, Netz Burgenland with 77 percent, Stadtwerke Feldkirch with 99 percent and Stadtwerke Amstetten with 78 percent. End of 2019. “
Several small network operators have already completed the installation of digital meters.
