Smart electricity meters will be installed in public institutions and households to help measure and optimize the real consumption of electrical energy within a pilot program that will be implemented by the Ministry of Energy with support from UNDP Moldova, IPN reports.

The pilot program forms part of the national plan for digitizing the energy sector. The first meter was already set up in the Government Building. This type of meters measure electricity consumption at particular intervals and in the future will enable to introduce differentiated charges, depending on hour. This means the smart domestic appliances will be able to read the meter and to start work when energy is cheaper. Moreover, the smart meter readings will be transmitted to the supplier in a secured and correct way. This way, the supplier will identify accidents and will intervene to deal with these swifter.

In the presentation event, Minister of Energy Victor Parlicov said that as long as there are no instruments for measuring power consumption in different periods of time, differentiated prices per hour cannot be applied. Now the authorities aim to start installing smart meters. The project covers a representative sample of consumers. As a result, the consumers and network operators will be much better informed about the consumption of electricity and how the energy products can be adjusted.

UNDP Resident Representative for Moldova Daniela Gasparikova said that for UNDP and for other partners, it is important to assist the country to achieve the objective to secure the energy sector, this being a long-term priority. “We are here to present this intervention concerning smart meters that we think will be a catalyst for borrowing smart technologies in the energy sector of the Republic of Moldova. This important initiative aims to transform the national electricity network into a smart one, offering a number of advantages and benefits. Among these are greater control on the part of consumers, broader energy efficiency, cost savings and access to data that would offer a basis for analysis,” stated Daniela Gasparikova.

The accumulated data will be analyzed during a year and the pilot project could be later extended.