Smart metering systems: MIT.N handles the installation
Smart metering systems make electricity flows visible and help to better balance generation and consumption. Mittelhessen Netz GmbH (MIT.N) is gradually rolling out the system where required by law or where customers request it.
At regular intervals, various providers advertise the installation of smart metering systems (iMsys). And it is not uncommon for them to promise substantial savings. However, what is usually left unsaid is that many conditions must be met for the use of these modern electricity meters – often referred to as smart meters – to really pay off.
Who needs an iMsys and who can benefit from it?
The law has clearly defined the circumstances in which an iMsys must be used and has set deadlines for its installation. Essentially, there are three groups that are required to have an iMsys: households that consume more than 6,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, operators of photovoltaic systems with a peak output of more than 7 kilowatts, and property owners who operate a controllable consumption device with a capacity of more than 4.2 kilowatts. This includes heat pumps, air-conditioning systems, wall boxes or battery storage units that can draw electricity from the grid.
Important to note: From 2025, the primary metering point operators will be obliged to equip all affected metering points with an iMsys within the specified timeframe. Furthermore, the law sets out targets that must be met by specific deadlines. Within its network area – that is, across large parts of the region – this task falls to Mittelhessen Netz GmbH (MIT.N), a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). “To fulfil this mandate, we have drawn up a timetable for the so-called roll-out, which we are following meticulously. We write to all customers in good time, explain which technology will be used, and arrange an appointment for the installation,” explains Rüdiger Schwarz, Managing Director of MIT.N, adding: “Customers don’t have to worry about a thing.” It is particularly worth noting that in all these cases, MIT.N covers the costs of installation.
Save money with an iMsys?
An iMsys collects consumption data and sends it in encrypted form to the metering point operator, who forwards it to the transmission system operator and the electricity supplier. Consequently, the iMsys itself does not save a single cent. However, it can certainly help to reduce electricity costs. To achieve this, though, it is important to interpret the recorded data correctly and adjust your consumption behaviour accordingly.
Whether and how much you can save using the information from an iMsys depends on many factors. “This fact makes the matter highly individual. Any general advice would therefore be unreliable,” Rüdiger Schwarz sums it up. In particular, the group of people who are already required to have such a meter under Section 14a of the Energy Industry Act can benefit. That is, all those who operate controllable systems such as heat pumps, air-conditioning units, wall boxes or electricity storage systems connected to the public grid.
Regardless of this, people with lower consumption or a smaller photovoltaic system can, of course, also enquire about an iMsys. MIT.N will then assess whether and when it can carry out the installation. However, if you opt to switch to an iMsys voluntarily, there will be a charge for the installation.