Despite clear guidelines from the federal government: converting to smart meters is difficult here

class=”sc-29f61514-0 icZBHN”>

Once a year you have to put away the old skis, pull the dusty boxes out of the basement wall and put the broken bike aside. Because the man from EW comes by to read the electricity. But this is a discontinued model. Either you read it yourself, or digital smart meters do it yourself.

Such smart meters should be installed in 80 percent of all private households by 2027. Then Minister of Energy Doris Leuthard (60) introduced this with the Energy Strategy 2050. Not to prevent us from having to put away our skis, but to save energy.

In 2017, people said yes to it. Now – six years later – relatively few households still have such a digital electricity meter. At the end of 2021, this was only about 26 percent.

Top in Central Switzerland, flop in Bern

And there are major regional differences. The CKW power stations in Central Switzerland have already come a long way with a conversion of 70 percent, reports “Kassenrutsch”. “We can complete the rollout in our delivery area in the summer of 2024,” CKW writes to Blick.

However, at BKW in Bern it has not even started yet. “The rollout will start in the summer of 2024.” Reason for the delayed start: It takes time to purchase the meters, plan the installation and set up the processes. “BKW operates the largest distribution network in Switzerland.” Nevertheless, there is optimism that the target of 80 percent coverage will be achieved by 2027. And it goes even further: “In addition, all BKW customers will have a smart meter installed by the end of 2028.”

The Bernese are not the only slow ones. Geneva will also only start the pilot phase at the end of this year. The electricity companies complain, among other things, about delays in the delivery of meters. They also promise to meet the deadline.

In Graubünden, only 15 percent of Repower customers are equipped with smart meters. While Aarau AEW reports that around 35 percent of meters have been replaced, the IWB in Basel reports just over 63 percent.

Smart meters alone are not useful

But do smart meters actually help save electricity? One thing is clear: with a smart meter alone you save nothing. Because it still only shows the current. But because it supplies data at least every fifteen minutes, it quickly becomes clear what the power guzzlers are. Anyone who analyzes the data becomes more aware of where energy is being wasted unnecessarily. Some electricity companies even offer their customers personalized savings tips.

In central Switzerland, a test phase showed that customers saved five percent on electricity with the additional knowledge. The electricity companies of the canton of Zurich refer to a study by ETH Zurich, which shows that using the smart meter saves as much as nine percent. The Federal Office of Energy assumes it is six percent. If six percent were saved, this would mean just over 70 francs less in electricity prices per year in 2023, as the Kassenjagd calculates. (brother)

Source:Blick