OIML Seminar

Smart Meters

2-5 June 2009, Croatia

Home | Introduction | Presentations & Conclusions

Venue | Background Information

In many economies over the past ten years or so, utility companies and the authorities have considered the introduction of so-called "smart meters". In a number of cases trials have been set up and decisions have been made to roll-out smart meters in whole networks and sometimes even nationwide.

Such decisions vary from stakeholder to stakeholder: the authorities are under the obligation to ensure that energy consumption is reduced, and utility companies are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase their competitiveness.

Business cases underpinning the decisions to roll-out smart meters take account of costs and benefits for both the utility companies and the consumers, and generally mention issues such as the price of new meters, the cost of replacing existing meters, the benefits of employing new technologies, etc.

The authorities are trying to deal with these developments by implementing regulations that take into account the additional functionalities offered by such new technologies.

In many countries, utility meters are traditionally under legal metrological control. The OIML has published Recommendations for water meters, heat meters, gas meters and electricity meters that serve as international standards (model regulations) for national legislation. The OIML is also developing a horizontal document on "General requirements for software controlled measuring instruments".

The BIML organized a Seminar to bring together all those involved in the legal metrological aspects of smart metering: manufacturers, users (utility companies and consumers), national and regional authorities, and conformity assessment bodies, plus of course the Secretariats of the relevant OIML Technical Committees and Subcommittees.

The purpose of the Seminar was to take note of recent developments in smart metering (technologies and regulations, experience and lessons learned) and to investigate the impact on the international harmonization of legal metrological requirements for utility meters.

As well as offering a very diversified series of presentations, the Seminar also aimed to produce:

- draft terms and definitions relevant to smart meters and smart metering, for use in legal metrology;
- a list of additional functionalities that should be subject to harmonized legal requirements;
- suggestions for the inclusion of new requirements in existing or new OIML publications; and
- a draft action plan for the relevant OIML Technical Committees and Subcommittees.

The participants in the Seminar were given background information prior to the event (documents and links on this web site); the conclusions and presentations have also been published and a selection of these will be adapted into articles for the OIML Bulletin.

Further information: Willem Kool