Smart Metering in Europe - 20th Edition

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Executive Summary

1 Electricity and Gas Markets in Europe

• 1.1 Energy industry players
• 1.2 Electricity market
• 1.3 Gas market

2 Smart Metering Solutions

• 2.1 Introduction to smart grids
• 2.2 Smart metering
  • 2.2.1 Smart metering applications
  • 2.2.2 Smart metering infrastructure
  • 2.2.3 Benefits of smart metering
• 2.3 Project strategies
  • 2.3.1 System design and sourcing
  • 2.3.2 Rollout and integration
  • 2.3.3 Implementation and operation
  • 2.3.4 Communicating with customers
• 2.4 Regulatory issues
  • 2.4.1 Models for the introduction of smart meters
  • 2.4.2 Standards and guidelines
  • 2.4.3 Individual rights issues

3 IoT Networks and Communications Technologies

• 3.1 IoT network technologies
  • 3.1.1 Network architecture
  • 3.1.2 Unlicensed and licensed frequency bands
• 3.2 PLC technology and standards
  • 3.2.1 International standards organisations
  • 3.2.2 G3-PLC
  • 3.2.3 PRIME
  • 3.2.4 Meters & More
  • 3.2.5 OSGP
• 3.3 3GPP cellular and LPWA technologies
  • 3.3.1 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular technologies and IoT
  • 3.3.2 LTE-M and NB-IoT
  • 3.3.3 The role of cellular networks in smart meter communications
  • 3.3.4 LoRa and LoRaWAN
  • 3.3.5 Sigfox
• 3.4 Other RF technologies and standards
  • 3.4.1 IEEE 802.15.4
  • 3.4.2 Wi-SUN
  • 3.4.3 Proprietary IPv6 connectivity stacks based on 802.15.4
  • 3.4.4 EN

4 Smart Metering Industry Players

• 4.1 Meter vendors
  • 4.1.1 Itron
  • 4.1.2 EYKON (Landis+Gyr EMEA)
  • 4.1.3 Aclara (Hubbell)
  • 4.1.4 ADD Grup
  • 4.1.5 AEM
  • 4.1.6 Aidon (Gridspertise)
  • 4.1.7 Apator
  • 4.1.8 Circutor
  • 4.1.9 Diehl Metering
  • 4.1.10 EDMI (Osaki Electric)
  • 4.1.11 EFR
  • 4.1.12 Elgama Elektronika (Linyang Energy)
  • 4.1.13 EMH Metering
  • 4.1.14 Flonidan
  • 4.1.15 Gridspertise
  • 4.1.16 Hexing Electrical
  • 4.1.17 Honeywell
  • 4.1.18 Holley Technology
  • 4.1.19 Iskraemeco
  • 4.1.20 Kaifa Technology
  • 4.1.21 Kamstrup
  • 4.1.22 Meter&Control
  • 4.1.23 MeteRSIT
  • 4.1.24 Networked Energy Services
  • 4.1.25 NIK
  • 4.1.26 Pietro Fiorentini
  • 4.1.27 Sagemcom
  • 4.1.28 Sanxing Electric
  • 4.1.29 Wasion
  • 4.1.30 ZIV
  • 4.1.31 ZPA Smart Energy (El Sewedy Electrometer)
  • 4.1.32 ZTE Corporation
• 4.2 Communications solution providers
  • 4.2.1 APKAPPA
  • 4.2.2 Corinex
  • 4.2.3 CyanConnode
  • 4.2.4 Devolo
  • 4.2.5 NuriFlex
  • 4.2.6 Ormazabal
  • 4.2.7 Power Plus Communications
  • 4.2.8 Sensus International
  • 4.2.9 Theben Smart Energy
  • 4.2.10 Toshiba
  • 4.2.11 Trilliant
  • 4.2.12 Wirepas
  • 4.2.13 Xemex
• 4.3 Software solution providers
  • 4.3.1 Avance Metering
  • 4.3.2 Atlantica Digital
  • 4.3.3 Cuculus
  • 4.3.4 Energyworx (Gridspertise)
  • 4.3.5 Embriq
  • 4.3.6 Hansen Technologies
  • 4.3.7 Ferranti
  • 4.3.8 Kisters
  • 4.3.9 Oracle
  • 4.3.10 Robotron Datenbank-Software
  • 4.3.11 SAP
  • 4.3.12 Siemens
  • 4.3.13 Telecontrol STM
  • 4.3.14 Terranova Software
  • 4.3.15 VIVAVIS
• 4.4 System integrators and communications service providers
  • 4.4.1 A1 Telekom Austria
  • 4.4.2 Arqiva
  • 4.4.3 ALTEN (Worldgrid)
  • 4.4.4 Capgemini
  • 4.4.5 CGI
  • 4.4.6 Com4
  • 4.4.7 GE Vernova
  • 4.4.8 IBM
  • 4.4.9 Telecom Italia
  • 4.4.10 KPN
  • 4.4.11 Telefonica
  • 4.4.12 Telenor
  • 4.4.13 Telia Company
  • 4.4.14 Utility Connect
  • 4.4.15 Vodafone

5 Market Profiles

• 5.1 Regional summary
  • 5.1.1 EU energy strategy
  • 5.1.2 EU policies related to smart metering
  • 5.1.3 Smart metering policies on the national level
  • 5.1.4 Top smart metering projects in EU27+3 countries
• 5.2 Austria
  • 5.2.1 Electricity and gas distribution structure
  • 5.2.2 Metering regulatory environment
  • 5.2.3 Smart metering market developments
  • 5.2.4 Second-wave rollout preparations
• 5.3 Belgium
  • 5.3.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.3.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart metering market developments
• 5.4 Bulgaria
  • 5.4.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.4.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart metering market developments
• 5.5 Croatia
  • 5.5.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.5.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart metering market developments
• 5.6 Cyprus
  • 5.6.1 Electricity distribution industry structure
  • 5.6.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart metering market developments
• 5.7 Czech Republic
  • 5.7.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.7.2 Metering regulatory environment
  • 5.7.3 Smart metering market developments
• 5.8 Denmark
  • 5.8.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.8.2 Metering regulatory environment
  • 5.8.3 Smart metering market developments
• 5.9 Estonia
  • 5.9.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.9.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart metering market developments
• 5.10 Finland
  • 5.10.1 Electricity distribution industry structure
  • 5.10.2 First wave of smart metering 2004–2013
  • 5.10.3 Second-wave of smart metering
• 5.11 France
  • 5.11.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.11.2 Nationwide program for smart electricity metering
  • 5.11.3 Nationwide program for smart gas metering
• 5.12 Germany
  • 5.12.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.12.2 Metering regulatory environment
  • 5.12.3 Technical standardization of smart meters
  • 5.12.4 Smart metering market developments
• 5.13 Greece
  • 5.13.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.13.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart meter market developments
• 5.14 Hungary
  • 5.14.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.14.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart metering market developments
• 5.15 Ireland
  • 5.15.1 Electricity and gas distribution structure
  • 5.15.2 Nationwide program for deployment of smart meters
• 5.16 Italy
  • 5.16.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.16.2 First stage of smart metering adoption 2001–2013
  • 5.16.3 Second stage of smart metering adoption 2014–2026
• 5.17 Latvia
  • 5.17.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.17.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart metering market developments
• 5.18 Lithuania
  • 5.18.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.18.2 Smart metering market developments
• 5.19 Luxembourg
  • 5.19.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.19.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart metering rollout plans
• 5.20 Malta
  • 5.20.1 Utility industry structure
  • 5.20.2 National smart grid project and rollout of second-generation smart meters
• 5.21 Netherlands
  • 5.21.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.21.2 Metering regulatory environment
  • 5.21.3 Smart metering market developments
  • 5.21.4 Second-wave rollout preparations
  • 5.21.5 NextGen project timeline
• 5.22 Norway
  • 5.22.1 Electricity distribution industry structure
  • 5.22.2 Metering regulatory environment
  • 5.22.3 Smart metering market developments and first wave tender results
  • 5.22.4 Second-wave rollout preparations
• 5.23 Poland
  • 5.23.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.23.2 Metering regulatory environment
  • 5.23.3 Smart metering projects
• 5.24 Portugal
  • 5.24.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.24.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart metering market developments
• 5.25 Romania
  • 5.25.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.25.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart meter market developments
• 5.26 Slovakia
  • 5.26.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.26.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart meter market developments
• 5.27 Slovenia
  • 5.27.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.27.2 Smart metering market developments
• 5.28 Spain
  • 5.28.1 Electricity and gas distribution industry structure
  • 5.28.2 Metering regulatory environment
  • 5.28.3 Smart metering market developments
• 5.29 Sweden
  • 5.29.1 Electricity distribution industry structure
  • 5.29.2 First wave of smart metering 2003–2009
  • 5.29.3 Second wave of smart metering 2018–2024
• 5.30 Switzerland
  • 5.30.1 Electricity distribution industry structure
  • 5.30.2 Metering regulatory environment and smart meter market developments
• 5.31 United Kingdom
  • 5.31.1 Electricity and gas industry structure
  • 5.31.2 Metering regulatory environment
  • 5.31.3 Great Britain’s planned nationwide smart metering system
  • 5.31.4 Smart meter criticism and regulatory framework revision
  • 5.31.5 Smart meter rollout
  • 5.31.6 Smart metering in Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar

6 Case Studies: Smart Metering Projects in Europe

• 6.1 Enel
  • 6.1.1 Enel Open Meter and the second-generation rollout in Italy
  • 6.1.2 Endesa’s smart metering project in Spain
  • 6.1.3 Smart meter rollout in Romania
• 6.2 Enedis
  • 6.2.1 The Linky Programme
  • 6.2.2 System development and large-scale pilot
  • 6.2.3 Full-scale rollout
• 6.3 Current smart meter projects in five European countries
  • 6.3.1 Austria – Wiener Netze
  • 6.3.2 Belgium – Fluvius
  • 6.3.3 Ireland – ESB Networks
  • 6.3.4 Lithuania – ESO
  • 6.3.5 Greece – HEDNO
• 6.4 Pioneering next-generation smart meter rollouts
  • 6.4.1 E.ON Sweden
  • 6.4.2 Elenia
• 6.5 Smart gas meter rollouts in France and Italy
  • 6.5.1 GRDF
  • 6.5.2 2i Rete (Italgas)
• 6.6 Smart meter communications platforms in Germany and the UK
  • 6.6.1 Germany
  • 6.6.2 United Kingdom
• 6.7 Smart metering in Eastern Europe and the Balkans

7 Market Forecasts and Trends

• 7.1 Market trends
  • 7.1.1 Second-wave rollouts to account for a substantial share of shipments
  • 7.1.2 Growth increasingly driven by CEE and Southeast European projects
  • 7.1.3 Smart metering systems shift towards more granular data and modularity
  • 7.1.4 Adoption of LTE-M and NB-IoT connectivity continues to increase
  • 7.1.5 Security has become an operational requirement
  • 7.1.6 Supplier dynamics evolve in Europe
  • 7.1.7 Rethinking the smart metering offering to respond to emerging utility needs
  • 7.1.8 Europe’s gas networks prepare for a low-carbon future
• 7.2 Smart electricity metering market forecast
  • 7.2.1 Capital expenditure forecast
  • 7.2.2 Communications technology market shares
• 7.3 Smart gas metering market forecast

List of Figures

• Figure 1.1: Top 25 energy companies, by turnover (EU27+3 2024)
• Figure 1.2: Electricity generation and consumption data (EU27 2024)
• Figure 1.3: Electricity market statistics (Europe 2024/2025)
• Figure 1.4: Top 25 electricity DSO groups (EU27+3 2024)
• Figure 1.5: Top 25 electricity DSO groups (Eastern Europe 2024)
• Figure 1.6: Gas market statistics (EU27+3 2024/2025)
• Figure 1.7: Top 25 gas DSO groups (EU27+3 2024)
• Figure 2.1: Smart metering infrastructure
• Figure 2.2: Examples of smart electricity meters
• Figure 3.1: Standard model for smart grid communications networks
• Figure 3.2: Alternative model for smart grid communications networks
• Figure 3.3: Unlicensed and reserved radio frequencies available for wireless IoT
• Figure 3.4: Selected members of the G3-PLC Alliance by industry
• Figure 3.5: Selected members of the PRIME Alliance by industry
• Figure 3.6: Selected members of the Meters & More Association by industry
• Figure 3.7: Selected members of the OSGP Alliance by industry
• Figure 3.8: Comparison of LTE-M and NB-IoT specifications
• Figure 3.9: Public LoRaWAN network operators in Europe (Q2-2026)
• Figure 3.10: Sigfox network operators in Europe (Q1-2026)
• Figure 3.11: Selected members of the Wi-SUN Alliance by industry
• Figure 3.12: Selected members of the OMS Group
• Figure 3.13: Selected members of the Wize Alliance by industry
• Figure 4.1: Major energy meter vendor company data (World/Europe, FY2025)
• Figure 5.1: Regulatory policies for smart meter rollouts, by country (EU27+3 Q2-2026)
• Figure 5.2: Top 25 smart electricity metering projects in EU27+3 countries
• Figure 5.3: Top 10 electricity DSOs in Austria (2024)
• Figure 5.4: Major SM projects in Austria
• Figure 5.5: Main electricity and gas utilities in Belgium
• Figure 5.6: Electricity DSOs in Bulgaria
• Figure 5.7: Electricity and gas DSOs in the Czech Republic
• Figure 5.8: Top 10 electricity DSOs in Denmark
• Figure 5.9: Top 15 smart metering contracts in Denmark (first-wave rollout)
• Figure 5.10: Smart metering projects in Estonia
• Figure 5.11: Top 10 electricity DSOs in Finland
• Figure 5.12: The largest second-wave smart meter contracts in Finland
• Figure 5.13: Top electricity DSOs in France (2024)
• Figure 5.14: Smart metering projects in France
• Figure 5.15: Smart meter progress for the top gas ELDs
• Figure 5.16: Electricity DSOs in Germany by size
• Figure 5.17: Top 30 electricity utilities in Germany
• Figure 5.18: Germany’s smart metering rollout plan
• Figure 5.19: Types of electricity meters installed for households (Q4-2024)
• Figure 5.20: Major smart metering contracts awarded by HEDNO
• Figure 5.21: Top 4 electricity and gas utilities in Hungary
• Figure 5.22: Electricity DSOs in Italy by size
• Figure 5.23: Top 10 electricity DSOs in Italy (2024)
• Figure 5.24: Top gas DSOs in Italy (2024)
• Figure 5.25: Natural gas customers in Italy by region (2024)
• Figure 5.26: Electricity and gas DSOs in Luxembourg (2024)
• Figure 5.27: Electricity and gas DSOs in the Netherlands (2024)
• Figure 5.28: Residential and small business smart electricity meters by DSO (2024)
• Figure 5.29: Top 10 electricity DSOs in Norway (2024)
• Figure 5.30: Top 10 smart metering contracts in Norway
• Figure 5.31: Main electricity DSOs in Poland
• Figure 5.32: Major smart metering contracts in Poland
• Figure 5.33: Installed base of smart meters by DSO group in Poland (Q4-2025)
• Figure 5.34: Top utilities in Portugal
• Figure 5.35: Top 5 utilities in Romania
• Figure 5.36: Installed base of smart electricity meters by DSO group (2025)
• Figure 5.37: Top 4 utilities in Slovakia
• Figure 5.38: Main electricity and gas DSOs in Spain (2024)
• Figure 5.39: Spain’s proposed smart gas metering rollout plan
• Figure 5.40: Smart residential electricity meters in Spain (December 2019)
• Figure 5.41: Top 10 electricity DSOs in Sweden (2024)
• Figure 5.42: Largest second-wave smart metering contracts in Sweden
• Figure 5.43: Top 10 electricity DSOs in Switzerland
• Figure 5.44: Electricity DSOs in the United Kingdom
• Figure 5.45: Gas DSOs in the United Kingdom
• Figure 5.46: Residential electricity and gas retail markets in the UK (Q4-2025)
• Figure 5.47: SMETS1 migration phases
• Figure 5.48: Smart energy meters in operation in Great Britain (Q4-2025)
• Figure 6.1: Enel Open Meter second-generation smart meter
• Figure 6.2: Conceptual system architecture for Enedis’ smart metering system
• Figure 6.3: GRDF’s smart gas metering cost-benefit analysis
• Figure 6.4: Smart Meter Gateway (SMGW) network interfaces
• Figure 6.5: Smart Meter Gateway Administrators (Q2-2026)
• Figure 7.1: CEE and Southeast Europe share of total European shipments
• Figure 7.2: CEE and Southeast Europe share of first-generation shipments
• Figure 7.3: Electricity smart meter shipments and penetration rate (EU27+3 2025–2031)
• Figure 7.4: Electricity smart meter shipments by country (EU27+3 2025–2031)
• Figure 7.5: Electricity smart meter installed base by country (EU27+3 2025–2031)
• Figure 7.6: Electricity smart metering capital expenditure forecast (EU27+3 2025–2031)
• Figure 7.7: Estimated capital cost for some smart metering projects in Europe
• Figure 7.8: Breakdown of costs for electricity smart metering projects in Europe
• Figure 7.9: Smart meter shipments, by communication technology (EU27+3 2025–2031)
• Figure 7.10: Smart gas meter installed base by country (EU27+3 2025–2031)
• Figure 7.11: Smart gas meter shipments by country (EU27+3 2025–2031)
• Figure 7.12: Smart gas meter shipments, by communications technology (2025–2031)