I actually think the 51st state is Israel but you can be the 52nd.
In Hungary all houses have 3-phase standard BUT each separate incoming line is limited to 16 amps which is then distributed down on the panel and all the breakers are 16 amp as well. So, if you actually push the system it can't cope. For example, if I run the sauna and the washing machine at the same time one of the phases blows. The same for our electric water kettle and anything else. I am going to try and con him into putting in 25 amp breakers on the 3-phases while he is here. I have one phase at 25 amps already but the other 2 are 16 amps. You can do this but they are sealed. The wiring is large enough to accommodate it but you have to do it through E.On and a licensed electrician approved to break the seals on the lines. The added cost to upgrade the circuit breaker from 16 amps to 25 amps is 150,000 HUF per phase ($416). We have nothing like a smart meter although E.On went digital a few years ago. Not all the way though. They do it one meter at a time and I still have a mix of old school and digital. It has been a few years since any were upgraded so they probably ran out of money to do this work.
Billing in Hungary can be done in 2 ways. The first is an annualized monthly payment based on average annual consumption. Then there is a reckoning in December when E.On send is a guy to read each meter and make a photo of the readings I have to witness and sign. The other method we do is I read each meter and put the data online and then pay the amount due. I prefer this method as they cannot carry a credit on your account and you get a refund literally in cash from the Postman which is an enormous pain. We have a total of 10 electrical meters and 3 gas meters I read on the 11th every month. The water is very different and done locally. E.On hasn't gotten their prying fingers into that market yet. The advantage to this is I get to see the consumption monthly and take action if something is out of normal. It does happen. The water is much harder as the meters are underground in deep boxes you have to climb down to read. We have 3 of these. They are old-school gauges. The water system is wearing out in our city so leaks happen a lot and you can have a disastrous bill if you don't pay attention. If the leak is in front of the meter it is on the city but if behind it is on me. I have in both houses Grohe smart valves that monitor water consumption for leaks and they shut off the flow if something unusual happens or even for detected micro-leaks. So, this old Soviet era stuff is finally wearing out and slowly getting replaced. But, smart meters are way off in the future. The one house has too many meters as it was divided into 3 apartments which we put back into a single house. NOw we have 3 sets of meters for that house when we only need one. I asked to have them removed (it would save them billing costs) but it would cost me roughly $1,200 to get time removed by E.On. So, screw them they can deal with reading all these meters. I am not a big fan of E.On.
The electrician will do the 3-phase outlet for me for roughly $1000 but it will be done quasi legally as he normally works for E.On but this is being done off book. If he can install a meter for this as well then it will cost another $400. He openly has to run the cables about 10 meters from the main distribution box so relatively easy to do. If I went the official route it would probably be a few years before they came around to do the work. In Hungary, if you want to get something done you do it the black way.