The IEC will begin installing smart meters in Ashdod and other cities immediately after the holiday as part of the reform to promote competition in the electricity industry. Consumers who will have a smart meter installed in their building will be able to disconnect from the electricity company and connect to the new electricity suppliers, who will be able to offer benefits to customers while the electricity company will not be able to compete with them in the first phase.
The reform of competition in the electricity industry is underway: The IEC will begin deploying the smart electricity meters in Ashdod, Rishon Lezion, Herzliya, Petah Tikva and Hadera immediately after Passover, when more localities will be added later, as published by the “Globes” website.
The companies that won the IEC tender for the deployment of the new meters are Afcon and Tadal. This involves the installation of 200,000 digital electricity meters per year and a total of one million smart meters to be installed in five years. The project budget is estimated at hundreds of millions of shekels.
Consumers who have a smart meter installed in their building will be able to disconnect from the electricity company and connect to the new electricity suppliers
The masses will in fact enable the implementation of the reform for competition in the electricity industry. Dozens of private suppliers have recently been allowed to compete for the electricity distribution segment, while the electricity transmission segment remains exclusively in the hands of the IEC. Consumers who have a smart meter installed in their building will be able to disconnect from the electricity company and connect to the new electricity suppliers.
To compete for the private electricity consumer, the private suppliers will be able to offer various benefits to the customers. One of the main benefits that smart meters will enable is to set a variable rate according to hours and seasons, to encourage a shift in consumption from the peak hours of demand.
The IEC, according to the reform agreement intended to privatize the electricity market, will be prohibited from competing in the first phase with the new suppliers in terms of terms.
Unlike existing analog meters, which require manual reading by IEC employees, the smart meters are called remotely. They transmit the energy data continuously and are connected in two-way communication to the central systems.
Thus, it will be possible to measure electricity consumption by hours of use and not just the total monthly, and give the electricity bill discounts accordingly. In addition, the smart meter owner will be able to view his consumption data digitally.
As early as 2017, the Electric Company began a pilot to replace smart meters in neighborhoods in the cities of Netanya, Jerusalem and Beer Sheva, when in Modiin all existing meters were replaced by smart meters. In addition, from November 2021 the IEC will install in each connection and project a new smart meter.
Rate varies by hour
The million smart masses to be deployed in the coming years will be distributed to the public at no cost. Those who are interested in installing a smart meter, but whose home is not included in the electricity company’s distribution plan, will be able to order the meter independently starting this August for a one-time payment of NIS 223.
Acting VP of Network Services, Moshe Cohen: “This is the IEC’s most significant project in the coming years that will put Israel in line with the most advanced countries in the world and in the future provide the company’s customers with real-time information and tools for proper and smart management of household and business electricity management.” .
Oren Hellman, VP of Marketing and Regulation: “The smart meter revolution will allow us as a company on the one hand to provide better service to the company’s customers and on the other hand will allow the company’s customers to consume smart and save expenses in the future. Customers will be able to view their consumption data during the day, week and month. Allow consumption to be diverted from peak hours of demand and an informed choice of a tariff that varies according to hours and seasons or a uniform tariff. “