The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) interpreted, on a preliminary ruling, several provisions of Union law relating to the installation of smart electricity meters and the protection of personal data.

The request for a preliminary ruling comes from the Regional Court of Sankt Pölten in Austria, in the context of a dispute between a natural person, SR, and the company Netz Niederösterreich GmbH. This person opposed the replacement of their mechanical electricity meter with a smart meter. The Court was asked to interpret several texts, notably Directive 2002/58 concerning privacy and electronic communications, in particular the notion of "terminal equipment" within the meaning of its Article 5, paragraph 3. The request also concerned the application of the security and information principles provided for by Article 5, Article 13 and Article 32 of the GDPR, as well as provisions of Directives 2019/944 on the electricity market, 2014/32 on measuring instruments, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

The Court held that Article 5, paragraph 3, of Directive 2002/58/EC (Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive) must be interpreted as meaning that: the conditions for storing information or accessing information stored in the terminal equipment of a user or subscriber to an electronic communications network provided for by that provision do not apply to an electricity network through which personal data may be transmitted.