Alemania : March 12, 2010

Europe has embarked on an ambitious plan to cut its energy consumption by upwards of 20 percent by 2020.  In implementing this plan, Europe would reduce its dependency on imported oil and natural gas as well as slash its collective energy bill by an estimated €100 billion per year.

If the plan is successfully implemented, it would also prevent 780 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions from entering the atmosphere or roughly twice the amount of emissions the EU agreed to reduce under the Kyoto Protocol.

Another way of controlling our energy use is through the use of smart meter technology.  In Europe the aim is to have each household gain full control over their electricity consumption thereby helping in the fight against global warming and putting more renewable energy onto the electricity grid.  There is no standard definition for smart metering, but it generally refers to using advanced meters in conjunction with the various communication systems to allow customers to monitor, and to a real extent control, their energy consumption in real time.

In its simplest form, a smart meter electronically measures how much energy is being used and how much it is costing the consumer.  Most current smart meters have been used in the area of electricity, but they can also be developed to measure natural gas use.  The main obstacle to smart gas meters is that the manufacturing process is more complicated thus increasing the price of this technology.

The gas and electricity EU directives adopted in 2009 require member states to prepare a timetable for the introduction of smart metering systems.  In the case of electricity, at least 80 percent of European customers should be equipped with smart meters by 2020.