Belgian grid operator Fluvius has awarded contracts to three companies for the rollout of digital meters in Flanders this year.

Contractor groups Unit-T, 3DM and TeaPlus will start in the coming weeks to prepare for a large geographic rollout that will start in the first half of this year. The framework contract will run for four years and includes the placement of a maximum of 4.3 million digital energy meters at 80% of Flemish households by the end of 2024.

Since July 2019, Fluvius has only installed digital meters for electricity and natural gas, of which more than 500,000 have now been installed. They ended up with builders and renovators, but via a conversion programme also with prosumers and families with a budget meter or a smart meter from previous pilot projects. For those target groups, Fluvius continues to aim for a complete conversion by the end of 2021 for budget meters and by the end of 2022 for prosumers.

In the amended energy decision in July 2020, the Flemish government set the ambition that all traditional meters in Flanders must be replaced by digital energy meters by July 2029, 80% of which by the end of 2024.

With the award of Unit-T, 3DM (a temporary partnership between Jacops and Van den Berg) and TeaPlus (a temporary partnership between APK Infra, Esas 3Services, Dierickx Infra, Etwal-Platteau Infra, Fodetra-Hotton Infra and Verbraeken Infra), Fluvius is preparing a significant acceleration to meet the 80% objective.

In the next four years, ten traditional meters per minute will be replaced by digital energy meters. The three contractor groups together deploy about 850 additional technicians for this.

In the meantime, the water companies Pidpa, De Watergroep and Farys are preparing the rollout of digital water meters. One of the possible options for this is a collaboration with Fluvius, whereby they can make use of this framework contract.

The framework contract is the result of a European award procedure.

In the first half of 2021, the three contractor groups will start with a geographic rollout, whereby the traditional meters will be replaced by digital energy meters in all municipalities in Flanders. The contractors involved will now draw up a global rollout plan, in consultation with Fluvius.

Fluvius will start in spring with a targeted communication campaign to inform all customers involved.