The Government of Madeira – a Portugese autonomous archipelago located off the northwest coast of Africa – is investing approximately 12 million euros to purchase and install smart electricity meters in every home on the islands. The smart meters will enable residents to be better informed about energy costs, as well aiding the utility company with logistics, meter readings, and the ability to provide better customer service. The meters will also serve to evaluate the environmental advantages gained from the consumption of renewable energies.
The smart meter project is funded in part by the region’s recovery plan and through the island’s energy provider EEM (Madeira Electricity Company). These funds are in addition to those already spent on the smaller island of Porto Santo, part of the archipelago, which previously received 400,000 euros for 4,000 meters. The Porto Santo installation was part of the EEM’s goal of turning the island into the first European territory with no fossil fuels and nearly zero carbon emissions. The smart meter project for the other islands is expected to be completed in the year 2025.
The president of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, has praised this strong investment being made by the Madeira Electricity Company, as it has the aim of modernization, greater reliability, and better monitoring of the entire electricity supply in the region. Albuquerque stated, “(this is) a very important step in transparency towards the consumer, because the reading will be done in real-time and without errors, with the consumer having immediate access, to the minute, to their energy consumption”.