Romanians could receive alerts when energy use nears contract limits

Romanian consumers could receive real-time alerts when their electricity consumption approaches contract limits, under a proposal being prepared by the regulatory authority ANRE. The measure aims to help households better manage usage and avoid unexpectedly high bills, according to the agency’s president, George Niculescu.

According to Niculescu, suppliers would be required to notify customers when their consumption reaches around 80% of the agreed limit. Alerts would be sent via SMS, email, or mobile applications, similar to telecom usage notifications.

However, the same source said, the rollout depends on the expansion of smart meters. Currently, only about 3.5 million out of roughly 10 million electricity users in Romania, or around 35%, have such devices installed, with significant differences between distribution operators.

“The percentage is low, and the gaps between distribution operators are significant. One operator has 69% (smart meters installed), others are at 32-36%, while one very large operator has only 14%. This must become a priority for operators; without them, we cannot talk about optimizing consumption, nor about time-based pricing contracts that allow consumption to be adjusted according to hourly prices,” the ANRE president said at a specialized conference.

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