BKW smart meter rollout: 100,000 meters installed

By 2028, BKW will install over 400,000 new smart meters. Measured by the number of meters installed, this is the largest smart meter rollout in Switzerland. Such a large and complex undertaking is only possible by setting up new systems and processes and through the interaction of various specialised partners. As its device partners, BKW selected the companies Kamstrup and Ensor/Semax in a tendering process. Kamstrup is a Danish manufacturer of proven smart meters and system solutions. Ensor/Semax is a Swiss manufacturer that has been supplying BKW with high-quality smart meters for years.

The widespread installation of smart meters is part of the Swiss federal government’s Energy Strategy 2050 and is therefore enshrined in the Electricity Act. By the end of 2027, smart meter coverage across Switzerland is to reach 80%, as required by law. BKW is aiming for 100% coverage – by 2028, all BKW customers will have a smart meter installed. A comprehensive, intelligent metering system is an important building block for enabling us to offer our customers new, innovative products and services as part of the energy transition. For example, an energy monitoring service that ensures transparency and enables customers to keep an eye on their electricity consumption at any time with just a few clicks.

Optimised logistics for a smooth process

The Danish model from Kamstrup covers the majority of BKW customers. A few thousand Ensor/Semax smart meters will be installed to meet the special requirements in the industrial sector and at higher voltage levels (medium and high voltage). BKW has chosen this configuration because it is the most effective and efficient solution for establishing a comprehensive smart metering system in our extensive supply area. With this solution, all customers can be covered cost-effectively.

Accordingly, since August 2024, around 10,000 smart meters have been making their way every month from the factory in Denmark to our central warehouse in Switzerland. From the central warehouse, a smart meter continues its journey to one of around 20 decentralised warehouses. Once there, the smart meter is collected by the responsible meter installer, driven to its final home and installed there.

Throughout all stages of this journey, it is ensured that the processes are designed to be as efficient and customer-friendly as possible. This requires logistics optimised down to the smallest detail and various specialist experts who work every day to manage and implement them. In order to optimise and shorten travel routes, for example, the locations of the decentralised warehouses are aligned with the progress of the rollout and changed on an ongoing basis. So when the area around a warehouse has been covered and a better warehouse location becomes available for the further rollout, the warehouse is changed accordingly.

70 people working every day

To enable more than 500 smart meters to be installed in our supply area every day, around 70 colleagues are on duty each day – including 44 meter installers, each of whom installs an average of 13 smart meters per day. Travel distances are kept as short as possible. In total, a meter installer in the Bernese Mittelland covers around 75 kilometres per day – in the Oberland it is approximately 100 kilometres, which equates to around six to eight kilometres per meter.

For the vast majority of installations, we rely on our installation partner, cablex AG. Our colleagues at cablex carry out meter replacements for small businesses and, in particular, private households at the low-voltage level. The installation partner was also selected through a tendering process and continues to impress in our day-to-day collaboration thanks to its relevant expertise and experience with large-scale projects of this kind. Our BKW fitters carry out installations for our industrial customers and at higher voltage levels, and are also responsible for follow-up inspections.

Control and support for the meter installers come from the office. This is also where the numerous systems and processes in the new smart metering system are managed. Every day, at least 26 specialists from various areas work in the office to ensure everything runs smoothly and to handle this major project. These include, for example, the project managers, who maintain an overall view and decide which localities will be rolled out when. These decisions are made in consultation and coordination with colleagues responsible for logistics, device management, team leadership and dispatching. In addition, the customer service and dispatch teams are always available to our customers to advise them on any queries. And the colleagues in meter data management check whether the meter data is being transmitted and processed as planned.

Another regular process step that takes place in the background is the random sample carried out for every delivery of new smart meters. This random sample checks the devices for external damage, and connection and data processing tests are also performed. Only once the random sample inspection has been completed satisfactorily is a new batch of smart meters released for installation.

The optimally orchestrated interplay of various teams and processes makes it possible for us to be at least 500 smart meters closer to our goal after each working day.

Every metre counts: record pace for the energy transition

Barely 12 months separate the installation of the first new smart meter and the installation of smart meter number 100,000 in September 2025. That is a record pace. It is particularly noteworthy that the high rate – over 500 installations per day – was achieved just six months after the installation of the first new smart meter. Intensive planning was required to make this possible. Numerous other experts from various specialist areas at BKW were involved in preparing and following up on the rollout. The necessary system changes in accounting alone were a major project for the colleagues responsible, including those from IT. The rollout therefore effectively began long before September 2024. Since spring 2025, it has really been gathering pace – and it will continue: by 2028, all customers in the BKW supply area will have the intelligent meter in their homes.

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