Smart metering Upper Valais (Ried-Brig and Fieschertal)

The municipality of Ried-Brig did not have any water meters; consumption was not billed at tax points based on consumption. With the introduction of water meters, the aim was to bring about a more economical consumption of water, so the decision was immediately made to take a leap into the future and to introduce electronic water meters in connection with smart metering. An adjustment of the water regulations was necessary for this. In the vote on these water regulations at the end of 2017, there was a high turnout with no dissenting vote (it was well communicated in advance by the municipality).
- Installation procedure: a) The owner selects the plumbing company from a list b) Plumbing collects water meters from the municipality c) Plumbing installs meters and creates an installation protocol d) Plumbing issues an invoice with an installation protocol (the installation protocol is important for embedding water meters in the smart metering system Electricity meter) to the municipality (100 CHF municipal contribution for installation per meter, this amount is sufficient if there are adapters). Aqua Metro was selected as the manufacturer for the meters. Brig and Naters have already opted for this because of their good price / performance ratio (meter costs approx. 150 CHF, depending on the flow rate). The radio connection between the smart meter in the house and the ENBAG headquarters is usually not a problem, if there are problems, you can drive through the village with a recording device at the reading appointment.
- In Ried Brig, the water meters are integrated into the system of the electricity supplier ENBAG (Ried Brig was a pilot municipality and therefore came to this integration quite cheaply). Thanks to an interface, the water meters can be recorded together with the electricity meters and integrated directly into the charging system. The ENBAG bill therefore includes part for water and part for electricity. The community therefore has a lot less effort.
- There were few concerns about data protection. The municipality undertakes to call up the data only at annual reading dates. Few people had concerns about radio emissions and therefore received a mechanical water meter.

The water consumption can now be recorded as a function of consumption, the water consumption has decreased significantly. There is no longer any need to read meters in the households, which saves costs and hassle for the households and the municipal administration. Households only receive bills for water, electricity, gas, etc. from the electricity distributor, which means that the municipal administration is relieved of the need for meter reading and billing. In addition, the consumption data can be analyzed at any time with regard to the utilization of the infrastructure, so that the expansion can be planned as required.