No MID meter, still EREs: your grid operator's meter counts

For EREs, your electricity must be measured by a calibrated meter. Usually that is a MID meter in your charger. If you did not have one, our answer for a long time was: replace your charger. That answer is now too simple.

There is a second route, and it works. Your grid operator installs a Secondary Allocation Point (SAP) in your meter cupboard: an extra, calibrated meter with its own EAN code, only for your charger. That meter counts. Your charger stays on the wall.

Since September, we collect the meter readings from the grid operator and turn them into charging sessions. The first customers already charge this way.

The meter counts, your charger checks

One hard rule applies on this route: your grid operator's meter is the measurement, and the counter in your charger is not. Not even if your charger has its own meter. What passes through the Secondary Allocation Point counts. Nothing more.

Still, we ask you to keep your charger connected. Not for the money, but as a check. Every day, we set what your charger reported next to what your meter measured. That does two things.

It shows that only chargers sit behind your metering point. Look at a day when you did not charge: the meter should then see almost nothing. An idle charger uses about 0.05 kWh a day. One 10-watt LED lamp that burns day and night already uses 0.24 kWh. Until now, this was a declaration you signed once. Now we see it every day.

And it catches a connection that goes silent. For Rik de Haas, the meter measured 98.41 kWh from 12 to 16 September inclusive. His Zaptec reported 96.98 kWh over the same days. That is a difference of one and a half percent, so the two tell the same story. After that, his charger reported nothing more, while the meter kept counting. We saw that and sent him a message. His sessions are coming in again now.

To compare fairly, we never look at a single day. A charging session often runs past midnight, and the meter counts per calendar day. So we always compare a run of days that starts and ends on a night without a charging session.

You can see it yourself too: your overview shows your meter and your charger side by side, per day.

What it costs

Installation is a one-off charge from your grid operator. Rates for 2026, including VAT:

• Liander: €280.82. After that, €46.06 a year.
• Enexis: €629.09. After that, €30.08 a year.
• Stedin: on quotation. If your own installer fits the metering point, Stedin charges nothing for that.

The smart meter costs nothing. The annual amount does not come as a separate bill: it runs along on the bill for your main connection.

One cost is often forgotten, and we prefer to name it right away: every extra metering point needs its own energy contract. So you take out a second contract for that one point. What that costs depends on your energy supplier. Ask before you apply.

Set that against what you keep. Our customers charge 4,100 kWh a year at home on average and keep 12.6 cents net per kWh of that, so about €517 a year. At Liander, the installation pays for itself in half a year. At Enexis, in just over a year.

Does this work with every charger?

Almost. The meter sits in front of your charger, so what your charger itself can do does not matter. There are two exceptions.

A mobile charger never counts, not even behind its own meter. A booking belongs to one charge point at one address. If you take the charger with you, that no longer holds.

And there must be space next to your meter, about 25 cm wide and 58 cm high. If your meter cupboard is full, a new charger with a MID meter is the easier way. That starts at €999 including installation, with your old charger traded in.

Which route suits you

A Secondary Allocation Point is usually better if your charger is tied into your solar system or home battery. The same goes if several chargers sit behind one point, or if your charger simply still works fine.

A new charger with a MID meter is usually better if your meter cupboard is full. The same goes if your charger was due for replacement anyway, or if you do not want a second energy contract.

We do not install the metering point: your grid operator does. You apply through mijnaansluiting.nl. Then you add the new connection in your dashboard, with your grid operator's invoice, and give permission once for us to collect your meter readings.

The limit: counting starts at the meter

You can only book kWh that the calibrated meter itself has measured. So your sessions count from the day the metering point is in place, and not a day earlier. What you charged before that never counts afterwards, not even within the window up to and including 25 February 2027.

It is the same rule as for a MID meter, and there is no exception to it. The sooner the meter is in, the more counts.

Everything in one place, including how to apply: read our guide to the Secondary Allocation Point. Not sure whether your charger has a MID meter? Check your brand and model.