Method for operating a consumption data acquisition system, which comprises a head-end system, at least one, preferably a plurality of, data collector(s), at least one, preferably a plurality of, consumption meter(s), wherein consumption data and/or sensor data are transmitted from the consumption meter to the head-end system via the data collector, wherein the consumption meter sends the consumption data and/or sensor data to the data collector in fixed time intervals on the basis of a unidirectional communication protocol, wherein the data collector acquires the consumption data and/or sensor data originating from the consumption meter and retains them for transmission to the head-end system, wherein the consumption data and/or sensor data originating from the consumption meter are stored in the data collector, the consumption data and/or sensor data are stored in the data collector in the form of raw data with a first temporal granularity of the consumption data and/or sensor data, wherein, during normal operation, the data collector carries out a data reduction on the consumption data and/or sensor data forwarded to the head-end system by transmitting data with a second temporal granularity, such that only a portion of the consumption data and/or sensor data originating from the consumption meter and stored in the data collector is forwarded to the head-end system, and wherein the first temporal granularity is higher than the second temporal granularity, wherein, if necessary, consumption data and/or sensor data that are not transmitted to the head-end system during normal operation are transmitted from the data collector to the head-end system upon request from the head-end system, wherein the data collector generates an appropriate response from its data pool, wherein the data pool comprises data without performed data reduction, wherein the data collector and the at least one, preferably the plurality of, consumption meter(s) communicate via a primary communication system, and the data collector and the head-end system communicate via a tertiary communication system, wherein the tertiary communication system has a higher bandwidth than the primary communication system. a head-end system, at least one, preferably a plurality of, data collector(s), at least one, preferably a plurality of, consumption meter(s), wherein consumption data and/or sensor data are transmitted from the consumption meter to the head-end system via the data collector, wherein the consumption meter sends the consumption data and/or sensor data to the data collector in fixed time intervals on the basis of a unidirectional communication protocol, wherein the data collector acquires the consumption data and/or sensor data originating from the consumption meter and retains them for transmission to the head-end system, wherein the consumption data and/or sensor data originating from the consumption meter are stored in the data collector, the consumption data and/or sensor data are stored in the data collector in the form of raw data with a first temporal granularity of the consumption data and/or sensor data, wherein, during normal operation, the data collector carries out a data reduction on the consumption data and/or sensor data forwarded to the head-end system by transmitting data with a second temporal granularity, such that only a portion of the consumption data and/or sensor data originating from the consumption meter and stored in the data collector is forwarded to the head-end system, and wherein the first temporal granularity is higher than the second temporal granularity, wherein, if necessary, consumption data and/or sensor data that are not transmitted to the head-end system during normal operation are transmitted from the data collector to the head-end system upon request from the head-end system, wherein the data collector generates an appropriate response from its data pool, wherein the data pool comprises data without performed data reduction, wherein the data collector and the at least one, preferably the plurality of, consumption meter(s) communicate via a primary communication system, and the data collector and the head-end system communicate via a tertiary communication system, wherein the tertiary communication system has a higher bandwidth than the primary communication system.