Spain will be first in Europe to fit 'smart' electricity meters in 100% of homes and businesses

The idea of the new 'smart' meters is that all householders or traders can work out their consumption by the minute, and that they can be read from a central office without having to send out workers to do so manually.

Customers will therefore be able to work out which appliances and at what times of day the most power is used, and adjust accordingly to save themselves money.

They will also be able to alter the power level on demand – whilst it can be frustrating that boiling the kettle while the washing machine is on causes the electricity to trip, many consumers prefer not to upgrade their supply as this 'overload warning' acts as a brake and prevents their usage being too high, but smart meters mean they can temporarily up the wattage so they can use the oven, microwave and dishwasher all at once, then turn it back down so they are not tempted to over-consume afterwards.

'Estimated' readings will no longer have to apply – where these are inaccurate and too low, they can lead to the subsequent bill being much higher to compensate, but with a smart meter, all readings are correct as the power board only has to look at a computer.

Fixing breakdowns or supply cuts will also be much quicker and easier.

And by the time every household and business premises in Spain has a 'smart' meter, it will be impossible for fraudsters to hook up to someone else's supply to avoid paying.

Neighbourhoods affected by squatters, or by clandestine marijuana plantations, remain a huge headache for authorities, electricity boards and, particularly customers, since even where the illegal occupants hook up to the public supply rather than tapping into another person's and forcing up their bills, the 'leakage' caused by fraudulent use pushes the price up for everyone.

But this will be a thing of the past by the year 2019.

Although many other countries are considering installing, or have already installed, smart meters, Spain is a world leader in this respect and has jumped the gun ahead of everyone else, according to GTM Research, part of world-leading energy experts Greentech Media.

The European Commission has ordered all member States in the EU to ensure 80% of its meters are the 'smart' version by the year 2020, although considerable delays are expected.

Only Spain and the UK have decided to substitute all meters and given themselves a deadline, and Spain's self-imposed time limit will come before that of Great Britain.

Elsewhere, Germany has decided to stick to the 80% limit, whilst France, The Netherlands and Denmark intend to replace 95% of meters.

Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Luxembourg have already finished their smart-meter fittings as they started earlier than the rest of Europe, but have chosen not to do so with every single one in the country, unlike the UK and Spain.

This means Spain will, by New Year's Eve 2018, be the only country in Europe, if not the world, to have done away with analogue meters altogether.

Its plan was to replace seven in 10 meters with digital versions by the end of last year, although it only managed 62%.

Per company, Gas Natural Fenosa and Endesa have each replaced 86% of their meters; Iberdrola, 90%; EDP, 78.5%, and Viesgo has already finished.

But the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has warned that all electricity boards must inform their customers clearly about the new meters before they are fitted, how they work and whether this will affect their bills, since many will be unaware of these issues.

Already, the CNMC has announced plans to take action against around 156 small suppliers for flouting this rule.

Photograph: Smart meters (by electricity board Endesa)