The deployment of smart meters across Wallonia will be significantly boosted, Sudinfo reports, with the aim of having one installed in every home by 2029.
According to a text approved by the Walloon Parliament at first reading, a new goal has been made to install smart meters in all homes, as opposed to a previously planned 80%, by December 31, 2029. This was later confirmed by a spokesperson for Walloon Minister of Energy, Phillipe Henry.
Wallonia is still far behind the curve in reaching this new goal. Under the previous targets, consumers of at least 6,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year, or domestic electricity generators (solar panels, etc) creating 5-kilowatt electric (kWe) were the only consumers forced to install a meter.
Since 1 January, smart meters have been obligatory in certain cases in Wallonia, notably for new connections, when meters are being replaced, or for customers who are in arrears. Those who request the meters can also have them installed. Those requesting to have their old meter replaced before the end of this year will have all the associated costs covered by the region.
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A spokesperson for the energy minister says that smart meters will “make network management much less complicated.”
Under the new targets, this obligation to install meters will extend to all households. In six years, all the region's old electro-mechanical meters must give way for new digital ones. In regards to privacy concerns, consumers will be able to request that the new meters do not relay information outside of the home.
