Big Brother: German Bundestag Approves Law To Accelerate Installation of Smart Meters

Large household electricity consumption devices like heat pumps, electric cars may be throttled or completely switched off by the grid operators.

Blackout News reports here how the German Bundestag has approved the law to accelerate the nationwide installation of smart meters. “The aim is to advance the digitalization of the transition to green energies.”

It will allow grid operators to “ration electricity by remotely throttling or completely shutting off power for large consumers such as heat pumps and charging devices for electric cars.”

The Bundestag decided this with a large majority last Thursday.

“By 2030, every household is to have a smart meter. These networked measuring devices for electricity automatically transmit consumption to the electricity providers,” reports Blackout News.  “According to the government, these systems should help to use energy efficiently and cost-effectively and relieve the electricity grid.”

Large supply bottlenecks, demand overloads loom

With millions of heat pumps and electric cars coming on the market in the future, and coal and gas plants being shut down. supplying Germany’s electricity needs will become a formidable challenge.

Rationing likely

The president of Germany’s Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, warns of potential overload problems and that power utilities will need to be able to “temporarily reduce the amount of electricity drawn from the grid.”

Already plans for electricity rationing are to come into effect beginning 1 January 2024.

Experts like Manuel Lösch warns problems may arise if many households charge their electric vehicles and run their heat pumps at the same time. It will not be possible for everyone will not be able to charge up their vehicles and run their heat pumps in the evenings without causing grid overloads.

No alternatives

“In cases of grid overloads, the grid operator could remotely reduce the power of devices via the smart meters to prevent power cuts, as there are hardly any alternatives,” reports Blackout News. “The federal government announced that elaborate functions such as control and switching will gradually be enabled or made available after a warm-up phase via application updates on the smart meter gateways in cooperation with the back-end systems.”