By Alicia Carrasco

On June 14, following up on earlier promises by its CEO, Endesa (a leading utility in Spain) installed its first smart meter in Malaga. This is first of 150,000 meters to be installed in 2010.

This news came just one day after the announcement of a new Spanish regulation: As of July 1, electric power distributors can no longer charge customers rent for old meters ($0.57 cents per month). However, distributors are allowed to charge rent for the new smart meters ($0.90 per month).

This may sound like good news for the future of smart meters in Spain. But there could be a catch…

If Spanish consumers must pay extra for smart meters (even just a small monthly charge), they might reject installation of the new meters. This could make it more difficult for distributors to meet fast-approaching deadlines for smart meter conversions.

Spanish Ministerial Order ITC/3860/2007 requires each Spanish power distributor to install smart meters for consumers with demand up to 15 KW. This is to be done in phases: By the end of 2010, smart meters must be installed on 30% of this meter stock. A further 20% must be installed by the end of 2012, 20% by the end of 2015, and the remaining 30% of installations must be completed by the end of 2018.

Spain has five major electric distributors and 300 small ones (230 of which are aggregated under the umbrella organization CIDE). CIDE says these small distributors will face a financial burden when they can no longer collect rent for old meters.

We realize this is a challenge, but eMeter recommends that Spanish power distributors work hard to stick to the mandated installation schedule. These targets are very demanding, but the measures to enforce them make compliance well worth the effort.

Focus on communicating well with Spanish consumers about the benefits smart meters off them. Toronto Hydro’s approach is a good example of how to accomplish this.