SmartRegions – Promoting Best Practices of Innovative Smart Metering Services to European Regions
Smart metering technology has a great potential to achieve cost-efficient energy savings, and its effective use is crucial in achieving the 2016 and 2020 energy efficiency targets in Europe. Moreover, smart meters play an important role in smart grids and reaching the EU 20% renewable energy source target by 2020. However, smart meters themselves are only enabling technologies, which need to be coupled with innovative end-user services to achieve better energy management through the means of rewards, automation and information.
The task of the SmartRegions project was to promote the uptake of innovative smart metering services such as informative billing and feedback, variable tariffs and demand response services that have the most potential to bring about energy savings and peak load reduction. In this, the project has inspired and encouraged energy utilities, other key market actors as well as decision makers across Europe to promote the development of these new services and to utilize the full potential of the new metering technology.
The project activities have included:
Monitoring the smart metering landscape in European countries, and providing recommendations for the policy and regulatory frameworks to promote smart metering services; Defining the best practices in innovative smart metering services and creating a tool to analyze economic, environmental and social costs and benefits; Promoting the best practices in innovative smart metering services in the project regions and by promoting exemplary smart metering services as models for other Member States and regions.
The SmartRegions project has been coordinated by Jyväskylä Innovation Ltd. from Finland. The other participating countries have been Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Austria, Romania and Spain. In total there were 10 beneficiaries from 8 European countries. In both Finland and Romania two beneficiaries were involved.
The SmartRegions – Promoting best practices in innovative smart metering services to the European regions project was co-financed by the Intelligent Energy – Europe programme of the European Commission and implemented during the period 5/2010-5/2013.
