It sounds like a success story: The installation of so-called smart meters in Germany is believed to have passed the million mark, the German Economy Ministry (BMWK) confirmed to Table.Briefings on Wednesday. This means that the number of these devices has roughly quadrupled in the last two years. However, the figure also shows how far Germany is lagging behind in this technology, which is crucial for the energy transition and combines a digital electricity meter with a data connection: Of the approximately 50 million power connections in Germany, only two percent have been converted. By contrast, smart meters are now used almost exclusively in many other European countries, including all Scandinavian and Baltic States as well as Italy, Spain and France.