Poland’s Tauron announces 1 million smart meters milestone

Polish TSO Tauron has announced the installation of 1 million modern remote reading meters (VOC) for their customers, with the aim of installing another 100,000 by the end of 2023 in the hopes of better coordinating electricity consumption.

TAURON Dystrybucja cites the installation as enabling them to automatically obtain data across grid operations, allowing for better control and planning of energy consumption.

“The smart meter installation project is the largest undertaking in the field of measurement and the use of measurement data in the Polish energy sector. We assume that by 2030 all our customers will have smart meters,” explained Paweł Szczeszek, president of the TAURON Group.

Szczeszek added how, “…the mass installation of modern measuring devices will enable us to monitor the status and operation of the grid more effectively in real time and streamline service processes.”

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The implementation schedule for remote reading meters will see:

• in the years 2023-2026, the replacement of 2.7 million meters in the branches in Jelenia Góra, Legnica, Wałbrzych, Wrocław and Gliwice;
• in the years 2025 – 2028, the replacement of 1.4 million meters in branches in Kraków and Tarnów;
• in the years 2027-2030, the replacement of 1.8 million meters in the branches in Będzin, Bielsko-Biała, Opole and Częstochowa.

Radosław Pobol, president of TAURON Dystrybucja, said: “One million smart meters working on our network is the result of several activities carried out simultaneously in recent years…[such as] the implementation of the AMIplus program in Wrocław, the installation of remote reading meters within the capacity market and a very large increase in the number of prosumers.”

AMIPlus is a system that allows automatic processing, transmission and management of measurement data, enabling two-way communication between electricity meters and the System Operator.

Based on previous experience and technology analysis, PLC communication technology was selected for these areas along with GSM complementary technology.

In 2022, a tender organised as part of the work of the AMIplus team was settled, covering delivery of remote reading meters with a PLC communication module along with installation, storage and cleanup services in Wrocław.

TAURON Dystrybucja is preparing to announce further procedures for the purchase of smart metering equipment.