Serbia plans to replace 80% of conventional meters with new, digital devices with remote electricity consumption readings by the end of this decade. Currently, around 150,000 smart meters have been replaced out of a total of 3.78 million, accounting for only four percent.
Smart meters are important as they enable more efficient use of electrical energy, contributing to savings. This is crucial for both the Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) and citizens. Additionally, smart meters facilitate the integration of a larger number of renewable energy sources into the distribution system and play a significant role in quickly identifying and resolving faults.
Recently, the Electric Distribution of Serbia (EDS) announced a massive replacement of meters in several phases to achieve the goal of replacing 80% of the meters by 2030. The first phase began last year, and a total of 470,305 smart meters will be installed as part of it. The value of the first phase of replacing smart meters is 110 million euros, and the funds are provided from the IPA funds of the European Union (EU).
Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, recently stated that citizens will not incur any costs in this process but will gain numerous benefits. They will be able to monitor their consumption and identify ways to save energy. On the other hand, she added that consumers can remotely turn on and off, and faults can be detected more quickly, contributing to the more efficient operation of the distribution system.
EDS informed Bloomberg Adriatic that the contract for the implementation of the project to replace 470,305 smart meters was awarded to a consortium consisting of more than 100 companies. Interestingly, all meters are domestically produced since only domestic smart meter manufacturers are members of the consortium.
The companies involved in this project are EWG, Meter&Control, and Mikroelektronika
As part of the consortium for the project implementation, there are also dozens of contracting companies responsible for the meter replacement tasks. According to EDS, this is expected due to the large number of meters that need to be installed within the designated timeframe.
From mid-October to mid-December last year, more than 89,500 meters were replaced in the first phase, as stated by EDS for our media.
Serbia is one of the few countries with the production of smart meters
Saša Marčeta, a specialist in smart metering systems at EDS, recently stated that this installation system is divided into three parts: smart meters, telecommunication infrastructure – used for two-way data transmission, and the control center, which houses an appropriate IT system that reads and stores data.
“The smart metering system introduced by EDS is entirely the work of domestic intelligence since both the meters and the software are products of Serbian companies. Serbia is one of the few countries in the region that has its own production of smart meters and a complete software solution. This means that domestic intelligence and domestic industry have adequately responded to the challenges of modernizing the measurement system in the distribution system,” Marčeta said recently at a conference in Belgrade dedicated to the importance of smart meters.
Nenad Nikolić, the CEO of EWG, one of the three domestic producers of smart meters installed in the project, emphasized that these devices belong to the latest generation with a large number of functions.
“The smart meters being installed are the fourth generation of devices produced by EWG since 2011. The design of software, hardware, and production of each subassembly has been realized in Serbia from the beginning until today. This is the case with other manufacturers as well, and in this regard, I can confidently say that Serbia has a very rich experience,” Nikolić said at the same event.
He also highlighted that Serbia is unique in having three manufacturers of smart meters, likely the only one besides China.
Which cities and municipalities will receive new meters
According to EDS, the installation of meters within this first phase is taking place in several Belgrade municipalities: Novi Beograd, Zemun, Vračar, Savski venac, Voždovac, Zvezdara, Stari grad, and Palilula. Additionally, in Novi Sad, the replacement is occurring in all municipalities of the Elektrodistribucija Novi Sad Branch.
Of the total number of smart meters, in the first phase for Belgrade (branches Belgrade Centar, Banovo brdo, and Zemun), 317,500 meters are planned, and for Novi Sad, 65,411. Furthermore, across the entire territory of Serbia, 38,300 measuring points will be relocated and replaced with new smart meters. Additionally, 49,094 industrial meters will be replaced across the entire territory of Serbia.
The second phase, involving 200,000 meters, is scheduled for mid-2024
The beginning of the second phase is expected in mid-2024, with €48 million secured for this phase, aiming to replace 200,000 meters.
Marčeta stated that EDS has secured €40 million for the second phase of the project from a loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Additionally, the second phase is supported with €8 million in non-repayable funds from the WBIF EU fund, according to EDS statements to Bloomberg Adriatic.
Negotiations for a €80 million loan for smart meters from the European Investment Bank (EIB) are nearing completion, Marčeta added.
“With the EBRD loan, 200,000 meters will be replaced, around 140,000 in Niš and 30,000 each in Kraljevo and Čačak. The tender was recently published on the EBRD website. The signing of the loan agreement with the EIB is also expected, and the tender for replacing around 370,000 meters in Užice, Jagodina, Subotica, Vranje, Zaječar, Kruševac, Sombor, and Smederevo is expected to be announced in the first half of next year,” Marčeta recently announced.
The project was initiated back in 2010
While almost 90,000 smart meters were replaced from mid-October to mid-December in 2023, the remaining smart meters in Serbia were installed earlier as the project started in 2010. Funds for this project were secured through credit lines from two European banks.
“At the end of that year, the first credit lines of €40 million each were contracted with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), which, according to the estimates at the time, were sufficient for the installation of around 250,000 advanced meters in the first phase. However, according to available data until now, tangible progress has not been made in their installation, as indicated by the fact that less than four percent of end-users have these meters,” noted the Fiscal Council in one of its reports from 2022.
The first phase of the project was supposed to be completed by 2015, and a significant portion of the planned funds from the loans was eventually canceled due to delays in public procurement. The installation of smart meters was revived at the beginning of last year when the competition was announced to initiate the first phase.
Sign up for business updates & specials
