Serbia has installed more than 900,000 smart electricity meters, bringing digitally enabled devices to roughly one-quarter of the national metering base as Elektrodistribucija Srbije (EDS) prepares another rollout of 400,000 meters. EDS said investment in smart-metering infrastructure has reached around €200 million. The initial large-scale programme received approximately €110 million in EU grants, followed by financing involving the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The next phase, still under preparation, is expected to receive support from the European Investment Bank (EIB). EDS also plans to launch a customer portal this autumn, allowing households and businesses to monitor electricity consumption more closely.
Smart meters support grid modernisation
The expansion moves Serbia’s smart-meter programme beyond selected installations and toward broader deployment across the distribution network. Digital meters enable remote readings and more detailed consumption and production data, potentially improving billing accuracy and helping EDS identify abnormal consumption and distribution losses.
The technology is also becoming more important as households and companies install rooftop solar and battery storage. Two-way measurement is required where customers both consume electricity from the grid and feed surplus generation back into it.
Metering data gains importance for CBAM
For Serbian manufacturers exporting goods covered by the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), more detailed electricity data can support energy and emissions monitoring. Smart meters alone cannot establish that electricity came from a specific renewable generating installation. They can show electricity flows through a defined metering point and, depending on the system, when those flows occurred, but they do not prove the contractual or physical link required for a specific CBAM claim. That evidence may also require power-purchase agreements, generator production records, supplier invoices, grid data, allocation records and renewable certificates where applicable.
Industrial sites require controlled meter data
The issue becomes more complex at factories using multiple meters for grid connections, production lines, rooftop solar, batteries or individual buildings. For verification, the readings must form a controlled hierarchy, with internal meters reconciled against the primary boundary meter. Differences linked to transformers, auxiliary consumption, on-site generation or storage must also be documented. Smart meters therefore strengthen measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems, but detailed readings are not sufficient if the metering boundary, calibration, ownership or allocation methodology is unclear.
Distribution networks face rising demand
Serbia’s renewable expansion is increasing pressure on both transmission and distribution infrastructure. Transmission operator EMS has tightened connection requirements for large renewable and storage projects, while EDS faces growing numbers of smaller distributed-generation connections.
Alongside smart meters, the distribution network will require investment in substations, transformers, automation, communications and network-control systems as distributed generation and electricity demand increase.
Loss reduction is a key test
A major economic objective of the smart-meter programme is improved control of distribution losses.Smart meters cannot eliminate losses caused by ageing infrastructure, but more detailed consumption data can help EDS identify discrepancies, target inspections and improve network investment decisions. The value of the programme will therefore depend not only on the number of installed devices but also on how effectively their data are integrated into billing, network management and loss-control systems.
European financing supports the rollout
The programme illustrates EDS’s growing reliance on European institutions for distribution-network modernisation. The initial deployment was supported by EU grants, while subsequent stages have involved the EBRD and preparations for EIB financing.
EDS has now passed 900,000 smart-meter installations, while the planned 400,000-meter phase would further expand coverage. Serbia has previously indicated an ambition to replace around 80% of meters by the end of the decade. As metering data increasingly support energy management and regulatory reporting, cybersecurity, data integrity and access controls will also become important elements of the digitalisation programme.
Customer portal planned for autumn
EDS’s planned customer portal is expected to give households and businesses greater access to consumption data. For industrial users, the value of the system will depend on whether information can be retrieved with sufficient detail and in formats that can support internal energy management and independent verification. The broader objective is to turn the approximately €200 million smart-meter investment into a reliable digital measurement layer for Serbia’s electricity distribution system, while recognising that smart metering remains only one component of the wider evidence required for CBAM compliance.
