Consumers pay a flat rate for most utilities these days. In the case of electricity bills the flat rate is based on the estimate from last year’s consumption and it gets adjusted just once a year. This system does not help conscious and economic consumption. One way to save money would be if we were to pay every month for the actual consumed electricity, especially if it were possible to compare the consumptions of two consecutive days. In the case of industrial consumers the gas and electricity market has already started applying the use of smart gas and electricity meters. Private consumers could have the same possibilities, and this is already working in a few EU countries. The aim of EU’s directives (2006/32/EC) on increasing the environmental-consciousness of consumers is efficient energy use. This affects the Hungarian consumers as well. The European Parliament and European Council’s directive states that the new systems should not only show the energy consumption but the cost and the carbon-dioxide emission as well, for both the consumers and the providers. The guidelines do not specify what technology should be implemented and by whom – but it clearly states that switching to the new system is mandatory for all EU member countries. According to the directive the utility providers must include the smart meter options by 2010, and by the 2011 the variable daytime rate as well. We are preparing for the implementation here in Hungary as well Sweden installed the smart meters for every consumer by 2009, Italy will implement it by 2011, Portugal by 2015. Austria and the Netherlands is still in the process of evaluation, just like Hungary. The Hungarian government has already started assessing the possibilities of introducing the new system. The AT. Kearney consulting company won the Hungarian Energy Office’s tender for the preparation of a detailed study. The research will end in June 2010, the first part of the study was completed in November 2009 about the aims and the models to be examined.
The implementation of the “smarter” system is in everyone’s interest: the providers will be better able to anticipate consumption, hidden deficiencies will become more obvious, administrative costs will be reduced. Consumers will be able to plan ahead and keep consumption under control: for example by using the high-consumption washing machines in the cheaper rate periods of the day. “If we can clearly see how much energy we consume, and we can compare it to our average consumption, we will act more consciously. This can be further facilitated if we get a notice when our consumption surpasses our average for the previous period.” – explains DIWICON-U brand manager Attila Sándor the user-friendliness of the technology an expert at Cason Mérnöki (Engineering) Zrt., the company which provides communication systems and software to most Hungarian industrial gas-consumers. Efficient data-transmission The data from the meters to the providers and back to the consumers can be transmitted in several ways, through mobile networks, internet connections or electric power-lines. Cason's solution combines wireless GSM technology in the available frequency ranges with fixed-line communications: the consumption data can be collected through wireless networks in the 2,4 GHz frequency range, similarly to wifi and Bluetooth connections. The data from the meters are sent through routers to collecting stations, and from there through regular mobile or fixed-line communications to the provider. The individual data packages do not exceed 100 byte and this data quantity needs to be sent on only on an hourly base. This way a free and public but intelligent system can be operated anywhere in the world, with very little energy use. Cost return The cost return for private consumers takes longer than for industrial consumers because the old meters need to be replaced, new smart meters have to installed, data transmission systems have to be developed, a solution has to be found for the storage and processing of the data, and regulations have to be developed to ensure how the data is utilized and that it increases the efficiency of consumption. The energy industry is already preparing for this in Hungary, pilot programs are already operating but a large scale implementation needs industrial cooperation and governmental and municipal support. The smart meter and Cason's data transmission solution assists the efficient use of gas, water, and electric power. Who else can save?
The system's more general implementation has still not been solved. "Beyond the industrial customers, the process should have reached the municipal institutions by now because with their collective effort smaller local communities could act as large-scale consumers, the municipalities would be able to plan their consumption - and the investment would pay off in the short run..." - explains the Hungarian tendencies Attila Sándor. The system has a positive impact on the whole country's economy and energy consumption: the consumers can pay attention to the workings of their households, the energy providers get more information about the consumption habits of their customers, and the whole energy supply system becomes more efficient.
