EU Court Rules Consumers Cannot Refuse Smart‑Meter Installation

Overview

• The European Court of Justice on 5 November 2026 said fears about electrosmog or general privacy worries do not allow households to block a mandated smart‑meter swap under EU law.
• The court cited the Electricity Internal Market Directive and said national smart‑meter programmes may proceed rather than allowing customers to demand conventional meters.
• Judges clarified that the ePrivacy ‘cookie’ rule does not apply to meters because the electricity grid is not a public electronic communications network.
• The ruling stressed that intelligent metering systems must meet EU data‑protection and security requirements and that responsibility for technical safeguards lies with meter operators and network companies.
• In practice the decision lets national rollouts continue — for example Germany’s phased replacement to 2032 with mandatory meters for households over 6,000 kWh, large solar installations, wallboxes and heat pumps — and it leaves open disputes about costs, security measures and enforcement as operators implement the systems.