Tens of thousands of new smart meters in Greece deemed inadequate

The rollout of smart meters in Greece has been plagued by delays and even technical mistakes in their procurement, affecting up to 250,000 measuring points.

The country is close to last in the European Union when it comes to the penetration of smart meters. In 2024, only 11% of consumers had such systems, versus 58% in Europe as a whole.

The Hellenic Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO or DEDDIE) began a gradual large-scale deployment a few years ago, with the goal of closing the gap. So far, 1.3 million smart meters have been installed in homes and businesses. The budget stands at EUR 1.4 billion up to the year 2030.

However, there appears to be a significant problem with the first meters that were procured and deployed in previous years. A few days ago, HEDNO published its proposal for the technical changes needed in the retail market codes, in order to activate dynamic pricing schemes from February 2026.

Utilizing smart metering, consumers will be able to benefit from lower prices during the day. Wholesale prices often reach zero around noon in Greece, as a result of high solar production.

Based on the document, the first batches of smart meters are not able to process real-time data and transmit them properly to HEDNO and the suppliers. It makes dynamic pricing impossible.

In total, up to 250,000 smart meters already installed and operational could be inadequate. A part of them can be adjusted through additional hardware, while for the rest no viable solution is seen except their replacement.

Complaints about wrongful power theft accusations

HEDNO also became the target of consumer complaints recently, regarding the lack of timely and proper power metering. Last year the metering period was reduced to a monthly interval. However, people complain of the operator not doing its job right, resulting in unfair charges.

Furthermore, HEDNO has been blamed of wrongly accusing consumers of power theft. Many such complaints have been filed, with claims that the operator is “trigger-happy” and that it identifies theft in cases where a simple change of consumption was located or a seal was damaged on the outside of a meter.

The Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste and Water (RAEWW or RAAEY) has promised to take action to rectify the issues and restore balance and transparency in the market.