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Consent flow in detail

After you create a meter, no data flows until you request consent and the grid operator (VNB) approves. This article documents the status values you can observe on a meter, how to poll while consent settles, and what external events can revoke an existing consent.

Meter status values

The status field on a meter reflects where consent stands:

status Meaning
not_connected No consent has been requested, or the meter was disconnected.
pending The request was sent to the VNB. We are waiting for the first response.
processing The VNB acknowledged the request, but the customer still has to confirm in the VNB's portal.
connected Consent is active. Data is flowing.
failed The VNB rejected the request, or the customer did not confirm in time. Edit the meter and retry.
disconnecting A revocation was sent. The VNB has not confirmed it yet.
unknown The state could not be mapped. It should not occur in normal operation; treat it as an unrecognised value and keep polling.

Only meters in connected deliver data. processing is normal: depending on the grid operator, the customer may have several days to confirm in the operator's portal.

curl
curl -X POST https://energiedaten.at/api/v1/smart-meters/«meter.id»/consent \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Energiedaten-Version: 2026-05-08" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)"

The call is asynchronous. The response confirms the consent message was sent. It does not mean consent has been granted. Poll the meter's status to track progress.

Polling pattern

Most consents settle within a few hours. Some VNBs respond within minutes; cases that require the customer to confirm in the operator's portal can take noticeably longer. Use a backoff:

Python
import time, requests

def wait_for_consent(meter_id: str, token: str, timeout_hours: int = 2):
    url = f"https://energiedaten.at/api/v1/smart-meters/{meter_id}"
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}
    terminal = {"connected", "failed"}

    elapsed = 0
    interval = 10  # first minute: every 10 seconds

    while elapsed < timeout_hours * 3600:
        meter = requests.get(url, headers=headers).json()["data"]

        if meter["status"] in terminal:
            return meter["status"]

        time.sleep(interval)
        elapsed += interval

        if elapsed >= 60:
            interval = 60

    return "timeout"
Node.js
async function waitForConsent(meterId, token, timeoutHours = 2) {
    const url = `https://energiedaten.at/api/v1/smart-meters/${meterId}`
    const terminal = new Set(['connected', 'failed'])
    let elapsed = 0
    let interval = 10_000

    while (elapsed < timeoutHours * 3_600_000) {
        const res = await fetch(url, { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` } })
        const { data: meter } = await res.json()

        if (terminal.has(meter.status)) return meter.status

        await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, interval))
        elapsed += interval

        if (elapsed >= 60_000) interval = 60_000
    }
    return 'timeout'
}

Recommended backoff: every 10 seconds for the first minute, then every 60 seconds for an hour, then once per hour. Polling faster will not make the VNB respond sooner — it only burns your hourly budget. The rate limit is counted per hour: 100 requests on Community, 500 on Light, 2,000 on Plus and 5,000 on Pro. BYO Pro and Enterprise are higher still.

External revocations

A connected meter can return to not_connected without action on your side:

  • The customer revokes consent directly with the VNB.
  • The VNB revokes consent, for example after a meter exchange or removal.

Watch for status transitions out of connected between polls. If your application depends on the data stream, treat any status other than connected as an interruption and surface it to whoever owns the meter on your side.

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