Today, the Government of Serbia adopted the Bill on Ratification of the Guarantee Agreement between Serbia and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the Smart Meters project.
After the government session, it was announced that the introduction of smart metering systems in the energy sector is one of the most important goals of Serbia’s energy policy and that it is a priority task in the modernization of the electricity transmission and distribution system.
The benefits expected from the use of such meters and systems for automatic remote reading and consumption management are, among other things, reduction of unauthorized consumption of electricity, automation of reading, reduction of labor costs.
The benefits are also the detection of power outages, better planning of outages during the overhaul of electrical facilities, the Government of Serbia stated.
On September 14, Elektrodistribucija Srbije signed an agreement with the EBRD on a guarantee and a loan for the Smart Meters project in the amount of 40 million euros, which will be used to procure a modern electricity management system in Cacak, Nis and Kraljevo, the Ministry of Mining and Energy announced at the time.
EBRD Director General for Sustainable Infrastructure Nandita Parshad said that the bank’s loan would contribute to the modernization of the entire network and lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
The Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia, Zorana Mihajlovic, pointed out that the goal of the state is for every part of Serbia to have a constant supply of quality electricity, and that investments in the distribution network will contribute to that.
“Today, Serbia makes losses in the distribution network, about 200 million euros a year, and it is a pity that that money goes to losses, instead of investing it in further development. Installing smart meters is one of the ways to reduce those losses,” said Mihajlovic.
She said that for the loan agreement of 40 million euros, the state gave guarantees, and that she would discuss with all international partners how to invest more in the distribution network, because that is the basis for energy security, Danas reports.
