30 October 2009 – Brussels The European Smart Metering Industry Group (ESMIG) calls on the European Parliament and Council to retain the Smart Metering provisions in the re-cast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
The European Parliament, in its first reading on 23 April 2009, voted clearly in favour of expediting the national roll-out of Smart Metering by requiring that Member States ensure that Smart Meters are installed in all new buildings and all buildings undergoing major renovation and whenever a meter is replaced.
ESMIG welcomes the Parliament's first reading and Smart Metering provisions[1] which are in line with and complementary to the framework and timetable for the mandatory European roll-out of Smart Metering, as laid out in the 3rd Energy Package.
The installation of Smart Meters, combined with direct customer feed-back such as In-Home Displays, has been shown to produce energy savings of between 10% and 20%. Therefore, if the European Union is to meet its ambitious 20-20-20 goals, including a 20% increase in energy efficiency, it is essential that the Smart Metering provisions be included in the EPBD to complement the smart metering requirements in the Internal Market for Electricity Directive.
The first reading proposal of the Parliament is thus taking the existing legislation properly into account and, at the same time, gives additional momentum to the roll-out of already available Smart Metering technology in these specific cases.
Let’s not wait for 10 years to gain the benefits from Smart Metering. If we are going to get anywhere close to realising the Smart Grid in the foreseeable future, let alone achieving the EU’s 20-20-20 goals [20% increase in energy efficiency, 20% reduction of CO2 emissions, and 20% increase in renewables by 2020], we must start building the foundation right now.
The Smart Metering provisions as suggested by the Parliament are a significant step towards putting into practice the new framework as established by the 3rd Energy Package. It is now up to the Member States to anticipate the timeline laid down in the Energy Package and ensure that their citizens can enjoy the benefits of Smart Metering as soon as possible.
[1] European Parliament, EPBD proposal for a directive (recast), first reading amendments 107 and 119, concerning article 8 – paragraph 2 a (new) and amendment 15, recital 17 b (new): http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2009-0278
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