Information about the responsible meter operator

The law on the operation of metering points and data communication in intelligent energy grids (Measurement Point Operations Act – MsbG) contains provisions on the outfitting of metering points for the grid-based supply of energy with modern metering devices and intelligent measuring systems. Responsible meter operators must publish the following information at the latest six months prior to the start of the rollout in accordance with § 37 (1) MsbG:

1. Scope of obligations as set out in § 29 MsbG

a) If this is technically feasible under § 30 MsbG and economically justifiable under § 31 MsbG, responsible meter operators must equip measuring sites at fixed metering points with intelligent measuring systems as follows:

1. for final consumers with an annual power consumption rate of over 6,000 kilowatt hours and for those final consumers with whom an agreement has been concluded according to § 14a of the Energy Industry Act,
2. for plant operators with an installed capacity of over 7 kilowatts.

The responsible meter operator is deemed to have satisfied these obligations if it equips at least 95 per cent of the relevant measuring sites as stipulated.

b) If this is technically feasible under § 30 MsbG and economically justifiable under § 31 MsbG, responsible meter operators may also – as an option – equip measuring sites at fixed metering points

1. for final consumers with an annual power consumption rate to 6,000 kilowatt hours and
2. for plant operators with an installed capacity of over 1 kilowatts to 7 kilowatt.

with intelligent measuring systems.

c) If, according to the specifications of the MsbG, the equipping of a measuring site with intelligent measuring systems is not provided, and if this is economically justifiable under § 32 MsbG, responsible meter operators must equip measuring sites at fixed metering points with modern metering devices for final consumers and plant operators. By 2032, the metering device must be fitted in new buildings and buildings subject to major renovations as defined in Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 19 May 2010 regarding the energy performance of buildings (OJ L 153 dated 18 June 2010, page 13) by the time the building is completed.

d) Based on the current situation, the following quantities of the obligations set out in § 29 MsbG are involved:

• Mandatory installation of intelligent measuring systems: ca. 88,000
• Mandatory installation of modern measuring systems: ca. 2,235,000

2. Standard services according to § 35 (1) MsbG

The operation of the meter within the scope specified in § 3 MsbG is included as a standard service as part of equipping the measuring sites according to §§ 29 to 32 MsbG. In terms of equipping measuring sites with intelligent measuring systems, implementation includes, in particular,

1. the processes stated in § 60 MsbG, including plausibility checks and substitute value creation in the smart meter gateway and the standard required communication of data, and
2. the daily provision, at the maximum, of meter readings of the previous day to the energy provider and the network operator in the case of final consumers with an annual electricity consumption rate of up to 10,000 kilowatt hours, to the extent that this is required by the variable electricity tariff under § 40 (5) of the Energy Industry Act, and
3. the transmission of essential information under § 61 MsbG to a local display unit or via an application in an online portal that enables protected individual access, and
4. the provision of information about the potential of intelligent measuring systems in terms of reading system values and monitoring energy consumption, as well as a software solution that firstly contains application information about the intelligent measuring system and instructions and applications to save power based on the state of the art in science and technology, secondly describes equipment features and application examples, and thirdly has instructions to be adhered to, and
5. in the cases set out in § 31 (1) number 5, (2) and (3) sentence 2 MsbG, the provision of a communication solution which can be used to bring about a change to the switching profile up to twice per day, and the transmission of a network status date once per day,
6. in the cases set out in § 40 MsbG and under the requirements specified there, the integration of generation plants according to the Renewable Energies Act or the Cogeneration Protection Law and the integration of metering devices for gas and
7. the fulfilment of other obligations resulting from the specifications of the Federal Network Agency under §§ 47 and 75, in particular with regard to business processes, data formats, invoicing processes, contracts and accounting.

3. Additional services under § 35 (2) MsbG

Additional services are services that go beyond the standard services in § 35 (1) MsbG. Stromnetz Berlin GmbH will offer the following additional services to start with:

1. Provision of current and voltage transformers
2. Timer/pager for modern metering devices.

4. Fees

The fees for the operation of modern metering devices, intelligent measuring systems and for the additional services offered are listed in the price sheet published on the Stromnetz Berlin GmbH website at responsible meter operator.

5. Additional note

According to § 37 Abs. 2 MsbG we point out that the metering operation according to § 5 MsbG can be carried out by a third party at the request of the affected connection user instead of the responsible meter operator, if by this a perfect metering operation within the meaning of § 3 Abs. 2 MsbG is guaranteed.

From 1 January 2021, according to § 6 MsbG, the customer can instead of the connection user select a metering operator if he offers to equip all metering points of the property for electricity with intelligent measuring systems, in addition to the metering operation of the division electricity at least one additional metering operation to bundle gas, district heating or heating heat via the smart meter gateway and to carry out the bundled metering operation for each affected connection user of the property without additional costs in comparison to the sum of the costs for the previous separate metering operation.

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