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Smart Metering in North America and Asia-Pacific - 2nd edition

Smart Metering in North America and Asia-Pacific

Table of Contents

Market Study
Published: October 2011
Pages: 160
Tables: 34
From: GBP 833.00  Buy Now!
Research from: Berg Insight
Sector: Mobile Networks

Are you looking for detailed information and comprehensive data about the North American and Asia-Pacific smart metering markets? Berg Insight’s analyst team has been covering smart metering continuously for more than nine years. Learn more about the latest developments on two of the most dynamic market regions that will see massive smart metering projects realised over the next five to ten years.

 

Executive summary
Smart grid is one of the latest buzzwords in the energy sector and has become a catchphrase
for politicians, academics and industry leaders alike. The vision is to exploit the latest
technology to address the immense challenge of securing the energy supply in the 21st
century. The concept of smart grids is at times put forward as a revolutionary solution to a
wide array of problems, ranging from the West’s dependency on Middle Eastern oil to global
warming. A more realistic expectation is however that smart grid technology will contribute to
improved efficiency and reliability in energy distribution and better optimisation in allocation
of resources and utilisation of assets.
Smart metering is widely regarded as the cornerstone for future smart grids. In the history of
metering technology, smart metering represents the third stage in a chain of developments
spanning more than 100 years. Manually read meters have been around since the advent of
the utility industry in the late 19th century. Over the last three decades, automated meter
reading (AMR) based on one-way or two-way communication has evolved. Smart metering
broadens the scope of AMR beyond just meter readings with additional features enabled by
two-way data communication. A smart metering solution generally delivers a range of
applications using an infrastructure comprising networked meters, communication networks
and data collection and management systems.
Smart electricity meters are being introduced all over the developed world. North America
and Asia-Pacific are two of the most dynamic market regions that will see massive projects
realised over the next five to ten years. Berg Insight forecasts that the installed base of smart
electricity meters in North America will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22.5
percent between 2010 and 2016 to reach 87.4 million units at the end of the period. Asia-
Pacific is projected to see the installed base of smart meters soar from a low level to 378.1
million units by 2016.
North America has the world’s highest penetration of automatic meter reading, exceeding 50
percent. Over the past years, many of the largest utilities in the US have embarked on
ambitious smart grid schemes where one of the main objectives is to deploy second
generation advanced metering infrastructure. AEP, PG&E, Southern California Edison,
Southern Company, Florida Power & Light and Oncor are some of the largest utility groups
having committed to full-scale rollouts to all customers. Furthermore there are numerous
projects among medium sized and small utilities throughout the country. National and state
policies play a major role in shaping developments. The US market received a major boost
through the Obama Administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that includes
US$ 43 billion ear-marked for the energy sector plus tax incentives. A number of states,
including California, Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania have approved utility plans for massive
smart meter deployments, while others such as Virginia have turned down major project
proposals. In Canada, the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia have introduced
mandatory requirements for smart electricity meters for all customers. Hydro-Québec
announced Canada’s largest project to date in 2011, involving 4.0 million metering points.
East Asia is in the earliest phase of the adoption of smart metering technology. Large-scale
rollouts to residential customers have only recently begun in Japan and South Korea, while
China remains in the piloting stage. National and industry leaders do however have clear
visions for the adoption of the technology over the course of this decade. South Korea has
adopted a national plan for the construction of a smart grid by 2020. Japan already has the
world’s most advanced power grid monitoring systems in place and several of the leading
utilities have announced plans for smart meter deployments over the next ten years. China is
investing massively in the expansion of the nation’s energy infrastructure to keep up with the
rapidly increasing power demand. The country has begun deploying a new generation of
more advanced electricity meters, which are prepared for two-way communication. China has
however not yet decided on any final standards for smart grid networking. Although the
country is on track to reach near 100 percent penetration for smart meters that support
communication by 2015, there is not yet any infrastructure in place to network them into a
nationwide smart grid. Australia and New Zealand began massive installations of smart
meters at the end of the last decade. Adoption is driven by regulations in the case of Australia
and by the main industry players in New Zealand.

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