A new obligation for all electricity consumers. There’s no escaping it

An increasing number of electricity consumers use remote reading meters. According to PGE Dystrybucja, 47.5% of companies already have such devices. its customers connected to the grid with voltage up to 1 kV. By the end of 2030, smart meters are to be installed in all of the company’s customers, i.e. in nearly 6 million users.

New regulations

The obligation results from the provisions of energy law and EU regulations. According to them, by July 4, 2031, all electricity consumers in Poland must be equipped with remote energy reading meters (VOC). By the end of 2028, these devices should be at least 80%. recipients.

At the end of last year, there were approximately 2.78 million such devices in the PGE Dystrybucja network. This means exceeding the statutory threshold set for the end of 2025 by 12.5%. Over the last 12 months, employees of the Polish Energy Group installed 874.9 thousand. new meters.

The company announces further acceleration of the program. At the end of 2026, the number of consumers equipped with VOCs is expected to increase to approximately 5.57 million, which will constitute 60.5%. all customers. In households, this number is expected to be nearly 3 million, or 57.4%.

New counters

Modern meters replace traditional electronic devices that have been used for the last two decades. They enable energy billing based on actual consumption, not forecasts. They also provide access to dynamic tariffs, the prices of which change depending on the situation on the wholesale electricity market.

On global markets, prices of energy raw materials remain volatile. Brent crude oil prices are approximately USD 70,043 and crude oil prices are USD 65,198. Natural gas contracts in the US are trading at around USD 3.0814 per MMBtu, while European gas TTF is quoted at 32.74. Price fluctuations on wholesale markets have an impact on the dynamic tariffs that remote reading meter holders can benefit from.

Smart metering also enables more efficient network management, faster failure detection and more effective use of energy, including that from renewable energy sources and prosumer installations. Remote reading allows you to constantly monitor energy consumption and better manage production and consumption data.

Meter replacement is mandatory but free of charge. The installation costs are covered by the distribution system operator. By the end of the decade, the new energy billing method will become standard for all consumers in Poland.