Every Third Meter in Serbia to Become Smart by 2026

Speaking at the conference “Automation for a Modern Distribution Network,” organized by EDS in cooperation with Energy of the Balkans, Komnenić stated that Serbia currently has approximately 600,000 smart meters. She emphasized that replacing old meters with smart ones is a crucial step toward increasing electricity efficiency and reducing consumption.

Komnenić noted that the EDS team has worked intensively over the past two years but acknowledged that further improvements are needed to bring operations fully in line with modern standards.

Dejan Popović, President of the Council of the Energy Agency of Serbia (AERS), highlighted that the number of smart meters in the country has increased thirtyfold over the past year. He stressed the importance of Serbia keeping pace with global trends in energy automation and modernization, particularly within the EU.

EDS has also launched the on-site implementation of a large-scale automation project for the medium-voltage power distribution network in collaboration with the French company Schneider Electric. A key benefit of this initiative is the ability to restore power supply to end users within 30 seconds of an outage.

The project is being carried out under an interstate agreement between Serbia and France and is based on a 2023 contract between EDS and Schneider Electric valued at €140 million. The contract covers the delivery of equipment, systems, and software for advanced management of Serbia’s electricity distribution infrastructure.

As the national distribution system operator, Elektrodistribucija Srbije supplies electricity to more than 3.8 million users across the country.

The concept of medium-voltage network automation has been significantly enhanced with the development of Smart Grid technology, an intelligent and responsive power grid system.

Modernization and automation are not only technologically beneficial but also necessary in light of new regulatory demands. Shortly, the electricity market will no longer consist solely of traditional consumers but will also include active buyers, aggregators, and various forms of prosumers. This will require increased system flexibility and advanced infrastructure capabilities.