We will try to understand the new devices installed by energy companies and which include the function of remotely sending information about energy consumption. According to information provided by the Spanish daily "El confidencial" rental of new digital energy meters will increase by 40%. But first things first:
Why is he considered “smart”?
The thing is that such devices have been sending information about energy consumption in real time since July 2015. When creating this type of meter, the idea was that the user could go to the page of the electricity supplier company, and, having found out the price of electricity in the next 24 hours, could plan their energy consumption. Prices for the next day are published at 20:00 the day before.
How much will a smart meter cost?
Most installed meters are leased from the company, which is withdrawn after termination of the contract with the service provider. Currently the price is 0.60€ (+VAT), new meters will cost 40% more - 0.81€ (+VAT), which in the future, as now, will be added to the invoice at the end of the tariff period.
Can I purchase it for personal use?
The answer to this question lies in where you live. For example, residents of the so-called distribution zone. the Endesa zone, which includes Catalonia, most of Aragon, Andalusia, Badajoz, the Canary and Balearic Islands, is required to purchase Enel devices manufactured in Italy.
If you live in an area other than those described above, you have the right to refuse meters offered by energy companies, but this is not recommended. Iberdrola company works with companies such as the French Itron or Siemens or Ziv
In addition, adds Jorge Morales, only those smart devices in which the new technology is built will be able to work at the new tariff, and others, no matter how smart they are, if such a function is not present in them, no one will be able to receive the data sent by the device.
Will this be beneficial for me?
According to Mr. Morales, the developers of the new system did not take into account one feature, at the moment the information is visible to electric companies and not to consumers, if it were the other way around, the situation could change radically , for example, the device could decide for itself when it is profitable to turn on the heating or air conditioning and when not.
The Commission for Protection of Competition believes that new devices should have, among other things, small devices capable of providing users with complete data on meter readings (and not, as now, only the number of kilowatts consumed -hours consumed at the moment.
According to the recently issued directive on the energy efficiency of buildings, it was written very clearly: “...new devices must provide consumers (or their authorized representatives) with real-time consumption data.. .", but as we see this has not happened yet.
In conclusion, the expert concludes that while the new tariff will bring some benefit, it will be small, unless of course the consumer himself requests prices on the website and thus adapts his consumption .
To summarize, we would like to inform you that the new tariff will change the so-called floating component of the electricity bill (as you know in Spain, you pay for the constant component (power) and the floating component - energy), Thus, the constant component will remain unchanged, exactly and as VAT.
So for those who have a contract for less than 10kV, and still have an old meter, can consult about the consumption of new devices on the National Energy Company page.
Smart electricity tariff devices
Everyone who thinks about saving energy consumption asks the question: how can you save money? Maybe you should do laundry after 10 pm, or turn on the air conditioner only when you go to bed? All these doubts should have been dispelled by a special tariff that began operating on July 1.
With this system, companies will be charged based on consumption and on the price at a given time, set by the Spanish Ministry of Energy, the so-called “pool”. All these benefits are only for those consumers who have already installed a new type of smart meters. It is worth noting that not all smart meters will have this function, but only those that are officially certified for this.
"At the moment, about 15 million digital meters have already been installed and by 2018 all Spanish consumers will have to switch to the new type of meters" - says Jorge Morales, the ministry's expert on the national energy system.
When will I get a new meter installed?
According to information provided by the National Competition Commission, about 27 million new devices are being installed in Spain, approximately 40% of which have already been installed by consumers.
According to lawyer and expert Dani Perez, “... for example, in the north of Spain in Cantabria, where E.ON operates, the process of replacing old meters with new ones is almost complete, at that time in the south of the country the situation was changing dramatically... Also, he adds, all companies are required to warn about an imminent replacement so as not to take consumers by surprise.
Who will benefit from such devices?
The new counters will be silent observers of our daily behavior. It will record and send information about what time we left home, how many washes we did, or what time we went to bed. So something tells us that the more than 200 electricity companies currently operating in Spain will have access to our habits and patterns of using electricity, and according to experts, the biggest beneficiaries of this reform will be Spanish multinational companies such as El Corte Inglés"
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