Eon Installs One Million Smart Meters - Germany Lags Far Behind in Rollout Across Europe
Essen (Germany) – As the first energy company in Germany, Eon has surpassed the mark of one million installed intelligent metering systems (“smart meters”). The millionth installation was commissioned in the grid area of Eon subsidiary LEW Verteilnetz at a customer’s home near Augsburg. While this may sound like a large number, it is very low by international comparison, and the lack of digitalization is slowing down the energy transition in Germany.
Eon provides an important impetus for the digitalization of Germany’s power grids
According to Eon, the company had equipped around 30 percent of the mandatory installations with smart meters by the end of 2025. This is significantly above the legal minimum target. In the coming years, around 500,000 additional intelligent metering systems are to be installed annually, particularly where they deliver the greatest benefit - for example, in connection with heat pumps, wallboxes, battery storage systems, or photovoltaic installations.
Thomas König, Eon Board Member for Energy Networks, emphasizes: “One million installed smart meters are a clear mandate for the future. We will continue to drive the rollout forward, focusing on areas where smart meters create the greatest value: heat pumps, charging infrastructure, battery storage systems, photovoltaic installations and other flexible consumers.”
Germany ranks far behind in Europe with a share of 3.8 percent
Germany is significantly lagging behind across Europe. According to the latest report by the Federal Network Agency, around 2 million of the approximately 54 million metering points are currently equipped with smart meters - corresponding to a share of about 3.8%.
By comparison, according to the IoT market analysis by Berg Insight, around 63 percent of all electricity customers in the EU-27 plus Norway, Switzerland, and the UK had a smart meter by the end of 2024, after more than 195 million devices had been installed. Penetration in the region is expected to reach around 80 percent by 2029.
In many European countries, smart meters are already standard: Italy (~98%), Spain (~99%), Sweden (~100%), and France (~90%) report very high rollout rates, while Germany remains in the single-digit percentage range. In addition to technical challenges, regulatory hurdles and federal responsibilities are hindering the rollout.
No energy transition without digitalization - what smart meters are needed for
Smart meters are a key technology for the energy transition. They provide grid operators with precise real-time data, enabling efficient management of load flows in the electricity grid, avoidance of bottlenecks, and increased security of supply. For consumers, they open up opportunities to use flexible electricity tariffs, save energy in a targeted manner, and intelligently manage, for example, self-generation from photovoltaic systems or the operation of heat pumps and battery storage systems.
As the number of installed smart meters increases, grids can be operated more stably, efficiently, and flexibly overall - laying the foundation for a successful energy transition in Germany.
Source: IWR Online, 19 Mar 2026
