Energy
Smart Meter Rollout By 2030: Ostrom Plans to Install One Million Smart Meters
By
Matthias Martensen & Karl Villanueva
4.7.2024
5
Mins read
- Ostrom increases its forecast tenfold for the next two and a half years; by the end of 2026, 100,000 smart meters are to be installed for Ostrom customers
- Currently, there are around 500,000 smart meters in Germany; Ostrom aims to install one million by the end of 2030
- New regulations and successful preparations lead to the increased annual smart meter rollout estimate
Press Release
Berlin, 04.07.2024 — Ostrom, the leading German provider of dynamic electricity tariffs, has significantly raised its smart meter rollout forecast. The company now expects to install 100,000 smart meters by the end of 2026 – a tenfold increase from the previous estimate. By 2030, a total of one million Ostrom customers will be equipped with smart meters. The expansion of Ostrom's digital energy management platform, supported by industry partnerships, the resulting increased demand, and supportive regulatory conditions from next year contribute to this optimism.
"We expect market development and our preparations over the past years to enable us to significantly increase our annual smart meter installations," says Matthias Martensen, co-founder and CEO of Ostrom. "We are making a decisive contribution to the digitization and modernization of the German electricity market. The prospect of one million Ostrom smart meters by 2030 highlights the growth trend we face in the industry. Currently, there are just around 500,000 smart meters in Germany."
According to Ostrom, more than 2 percent of their customers are already equipped with smart meters. Martensen states that the company is on track to increase this share to 5 percent of Ostrom customers by the end of this year. For comparison: this corresponds to five times the current national average in Germany – the industry currently estimates a smart meter penetration of one percent of German households.
Germany is facing a smart meter offensive
Smart meters are intelligent electricity meters that measure energy consumption in real-time and automatically transmit this data to the energy provider. Compared to conventional electricity meters, a smart meter has numerous advantages: above all, it offers electricity customers maximum transparency about their electricity consumption. It is also a prerequisite for the use of dynamic electricity tariffs, where customers pay the price of electricity as it is traded on the market at any given time.
In the energy transition, smart meters also play a crucial role for grid operators. Their real-time data allows them to efficiently control the power grid and better manage peak loads. This is particularly relevant when a large part of the power supply comes from renewable energy sources, which are naturally less predictable. Most Germans agree: according to a study by the digital association Bitkom e.V. from March this year, 83 percent see digitization as an opportunity for the energy transition. 63 percent can imagine installing a smart meter in their household – almost double the figure from 2020 (36 percent).
All these reasons have also prompted the federal government to define smart meters as a key component of a modern energy economy. From 2025, the installation of intelligent measuring systems will be mandatory for households with an annual electricity consumption of over 6,000 kilowatt-hours. Households with lower consumption will also have the right to install a smart meter from next year.
About Ostrom
Ostrom is a green energy provider founded in 2021 and headquartered in Berlin. It helps consumers control and reduce their energy consumption through its intelligent energy management platform. The company offers its variable SimplyFair tariff, the SimplyDynamic tariff with dynamic pricing supported by smart meters, Smart EV Charging, HVAC optimization, Solar PV integrations, all controlled via the Ostrom app, and the Ostrom Store for smart home devices. https://www.ostrom.de
Press Contacts
Ostrom: Matthias Martensen, press@ostrom.de
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