Information for private individuals
Do you have questions about Smart Meter Gateways? We’re here to help!
We have compiled some FAQs here.
Please note: As a private customer, your Smart Meter and Smart Meter Gateway are provided and managed by your Metering Point Operator (the ‘Messstellenbetreiber’ or ‘MSB’, in German).
If you have specific questions about your Smart Meter Gateway and how it is operated, you should contact your Metering Point Operator.
If you don’t know who that is, you can usually find their name on your electricity meter or electricity bills. Look for “Messstellenbetreiber” or ‘MSB‘ if your bill is in German. It might be a company name, or a code.
If you are concerned about your electricity bill, and how it is measured now you have a Smart Meter Gateway, you should contact your energy provider or utility.
Manuals & Software
A brief guide that summarizes the most important information regarding the installation, commissioning and further use of the Smart Meter Gateway.
The complete manual for using the Smart Meter Gateway as an end user.
This document contains all the requirements and information that are relevant for use in accordance with measurement and calibration law. This document is particularly relevant in the case of an invoice audit or audit of findings and contains the necessary information to carry out these audits.
With “TRuDI”, the BundesDisplay working group has developed software for intelligent measuring systems in private households. The transparency and display software enables the end user to see their energy requirements in a uniform, manufacturer-independent manner and to check the invoice.
TRuDI is available for public download free of charge as operating system-independent open source software.
How does the installation of an intelligent measuring system work?
FAQs
A Smart Meter Gateway is the interface between the smart meter in your home, or own energy generation plant (if you have one) and the public power grid.
Devices connected to the Smart Meter Gateway can send and receive data securely, without any interference.
An intelligent metering system is a smart meter combined with a Smart Meter Gateway (SMGW).
These two devices together can measure power consumption at the actual time of use (for example, per day, week, month, year).
More about the Smart Meter Gateway here
Under German energy law both the power supply and your energy data must be kept secure. The intelligent metering system was designed to protect both your meter data and the electricity supply from cyber attacks.
The relevant law is called the GDEW, in English; The Act on Metering Point Operation and Data Communication in Smart Energy Networks.
Read more here: https://www.bsi.bund.de/EN/Das-BSI/Auftrag/Gesetze-und-Verordungen/Smart-Metering-GDEW-MsbG/smart-metering-gdew-msbg.html
The first difference you will notice is that you don’t have to report your meter readings, or have a meter reader visit your house. The next is that your bills will be more accurately based on your actual consumption, not an estimate.
What won’t be quite so obvious, is the effects the iMSys has on the efficiency of the whole energy system, as power and grid companies get more accurate data about energy use.
Energy Law sets very high requirements for data protection and data security. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) drew up so-called BSI protection profiles and technical guidelines for this purpose and is constantly reviewing and developing them. Security standards for energy data are even higher than those for internet banking. The law specifies who can see the data, and the specific purposes for seeing it. Once the data has been used for that purpose it should be deleted.
The Smart Meter Gateway is not a meter, it doesn’t collect or store data. It makes sure the data collected by the meter is encrypted and only shared with your permission.
Most of all, so your energy provider charges you correctly for what you’ve used, or pays you for energy you’ve generated, if you have renewables in your home.
You might want to see your own energy use, and where you can make savings.
You might want to give permission to a home automation company, if you have an alarm system, or a health monitoring system in your home.
If you have a battery or a charging station for an electric vehicle, you might want to share when you have extra capacity, that can be used in the power grid.
Installing the Smart Meter and Smart Meter Gateway is the responsibility of your energy provider, the management of the equipment is done by a metering point operator. Like your old metering equipment, some of the cost is included in your bill, but the law strictly limits how much the end customer has to pay.
Software called TRuDI is provided by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) that can give people access to their billing data.
More information about TRuDI is here
Information on the introduction of intelligent measuring systems and answers to frequently asked questions can be found here:
Smart Meter Gateway Technical Issues
If you think your Smart Meter Gateway is not working properly, first inform your metering point operator (see above how to reach them).
And you are also welcome to send us your observations using this form. If we can offer any advice, we will get in touch:
Further questions
Do you have more questions about Smart Meter Gateways, or the energy infrastructure in general? Then please contact us using the form below.
Questions relating to your Smart Meter Gateway should be answered by your energy supplier or metering point operator (for how to contact them, see above).
PPC is the leading developer of Smart Meter Gateways, but does not manage individual devices, or have any access at all to your Smart Meter Gateway or your data.
