Retele Electrice Romania, part of the PPC Group, has announced plans to install approximately 2 million smart meters by the end of 2025, marking the highest deployment among electricity distribution operators in the country.
Smart meters are essential for developing a digital and resilient energy distribution network. They improve customer interaction, enable new market services such as energy flexibility and aggregation, and support the integration of decentralized energy generation and storage. Remote meter reading, supplier switching, and service reconnections without on-site intervention help reduce the carbon footprint and promote sustainable energy use. By equipping consumers, producers, and prosumers with smart meters, Retele Electrice Romania is actively advancing the country’s energy transition.
The company has continued its large-scale smart meter rollout in the Banat, Dobrogea, and Muntenia regions, in line with the implementation schedule set by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) since 2015. In 2024 alone, an average of 1.5 million remote meter readings were conducted each month, significantly reducing the environmental impact of the distribution process.
This year, over 174,000 smart meters will be installed across the three service regions. By the end of 2025, Bucharest and the counties of Ilfov and Giurgiu will achieve a 60% coverage rate, Banat (including Timiș, Caraș-Severin, Hunedoara, and Arad) will surpass 50%, and Dobrogea (Constanța, Tulcea, Ialomița, and Călărași) will exceed 60%—representing the highest smart meter penetration rates in Romania.
Smart meters are gradually replacing older devices under ANRE-approved plans at no additional cost to customers. When fully integrated into a smart metering system, they automatically communicate with the central network, eliminating manual index submissions and ensuring accurate billing. Under current regulations, electricity distributors must replace outdated meters with smart versions, while customers must grant access to company representatives if the meter is inside their homes.
