The Brazilian Ministry of Mijnen and Energie (MME) has launched a consultation that could lead to the installation of 3.6 million smart meters as part of the efforts to modernize the energy sector and reduce losses.
The MME of Brazil has opened a public consultation on guidelines for smart meter implementation, aimed at modernizing the electricity sector, reducing losses and operating costs, improving service quality and giving more control over energy consumption.
Smart meters register remotely consumption and establish two -way communication between consumers and distributors. The most important functions include telemetry, external connection and decoupling, fraud and error detection, monitoring of food quality and integration with digital platforms. They support more accurate invoicing, strengthen grid management and increase transparency.
The Consult outlines various measures, including the installation of smart meters in 4% of consumer units in concession areas within 12 months, the setting of minimal device functionalities, so that resources of the Energy Efficiency Program (PEE) can be used and can define guidelines for cost-benefit analyzes of the medium and long-term implementation. Meeting the goal of 4% would mean around 3.6 million new meters nationwide.
Utilism programs have already started large -scale rollouts. Enel SP had equipped 12% of its consumer units with smart meters by 2024, while Copel reached 33%. Since 2021, Cemig has replaced more than 2 million meters with 774 municipalities in MINAS GERAIS, with plans to install more than 400,000 more in 2025, supported by an BRL 70 million ($ 13.1 million) investment.
The CEMIG program includes smart meters in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan region, with devices that send real -time data to distributors and enable faster failure detection. Future services will enable customers to view detailed consumption reports via apps such as Cemig Astende.
Copel leads a smart electric schedule program that focuses on 2 million smart meters by the end of 2025, which covers 155 municipalities in Paraná. To date, it has installed 1.7 million units that were supplied by Nansen and Eletra Energy, part of the Chinese Hexing Group. These meters send automatic consumption data of 15 minutes, which makes manual measurements eliminated and faster error correction are made possible, while they are also integrated with digital invoicing and mobile apps. Copel said that the program lowers the use of vehicles, reduces fraud and supports smart urban development.
CPFL Energia plans to replace 1.6 million conventional meters in cities by CPFL Paulista, Piratininga and Santa Cruz by 2029. The BRL 1.2 billion program comprises BRL 800 million in financing BNDes Mais Inovação and wants to benefit 400,000 consumers annually. Pilot projects carried out in Jaguariúna between 2018 and 2019 will be scaled up under the rollout.
“Smart graters are one of the largest technological developments in the distribution sector. Replacing meters is the basis of this transformation that the customer places in the center and offers efficiency, detailed consumption monitoring and a new consumer experience,” said CPFL Energia President Gustavo Estrella.
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