This report provides Transforma Insights’ view on the Electricity Smart Meter IoT market, found in the Transforma Insights Connected Things TAM forecast.
The transition from traditional electricity meters to smart meters is one of the biggest IoT initiatives worldwide. By 2034, there will be 2.3 billion electricity smart meter connections. This report examines the reasons for the increase in installations, including reducing energy consumption, a desire to reduce electricity theft, and enhancing load balancing capabilities. The growth in the use of renewable energy sources, reducing dependence on nuclear energy, and increasing demand for EV charging are changing the nature of the electricity market and their impact on the adoption of smart electricity meters will be discussed. This report also provides a detailed assessment of the progress of rollouts and the various communication technologies used across major geographies for these meters. Electricity smart meter rollouts are usually a government- or utility-led initiative, with electricity suppliers standing to benefit the most from their introduction. However, there are advantages for end users, such as reduced tariffs during periods of low demand and automated meter readings for accurate billing.
The report provides a detailed definition of the sector, analysis of market development and profiles of the key vendors in the space. It also provides a summary of the current status of adoption and Transforma Insights’ ten-year forecasts for the market. The forecasts include analysis of the number of IoT connections by geography, the technologies used (including splits by 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, LPWA, short range, satellite and others), as well as the revenue split between module, value-added connectivity and services. A full set of forecast data, including country-level forecasts, sector break-downs and public/private network splits, is available through the IoT Forecast tool.
The report examines key factors that are influencing the development of the market, including:
This section of the report discusses the two approaches to the rollout of smart electricity meters: the top-down (where a central authority is in charge of the rollout) and the bottom-up (where the Distribution System Operator or the energy supplier is in charge of the rollout). It also talks about the features, benefits, and nation-wise examples of both approaches.
This section explains how various governments have been the principal drivers behind the deployment of smart meters. It also mentions the countries where the market is not yet completely regulated and the reasons behind the lack of adoption of smart meters (such as a lack of clear understanding and definitions).
In a tabular format, it then provides a list of regulatory stipulations on the rollout of smart meters across key geographies, including Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, and the US. For example, the State Grid Corporation of China, which governs 85% of the market, started deploying residential smart meters in 2011. The rollout of smart electricity meters in the country is now complete and the replacement of first-generation smart meters has also begun
This section primarily focuses on the challenges associated with traditional meters (such as energy theft, errors in unmetered supplies, and conveyance errors) and discusses how the adoption of smart meters can deal with such challenges. For example, smart meters come with sensors capable of delivering real-time consumption data, which can be utilised to identify areas where theft is taking place in a grid.
It also mentions the additional benefits of smart meters, like providing consumers with detailed feedback on electricity usage, thereby encouraging them to adjust their habits to lower their electricity bills. This may allow electricity providers to use dynamic pricing to influence smart meter-equipped customers’ behaviour to enhance grid reliability, reduce blackouts and system-wide electricity failures, curb greenhouse gases, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. For example, smart tariffs in the UK allow consumers to save money by using energy outside of peak times. In fact, in June 2022, the UK National Grid announced that it was planning to actually pay users to shift electricity to off-peak consumption.
This section discusses how electric vehicles, heating systems, and smart appliances can be connected to smart meters to access pricing data, allowing consumers to take advantage when electricity rates are cheaper.
It also explains how the increasing adoption of electric vehicles, increasing dependence on renewable energy sources, a reduction in demand for nuclear power (coupled with a scarcity of natural gas resources), and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine will indirectly encourage greater use of smart meters.
This section explains how electricity smart meters enable significant cost savings, since residential smart meters can reduce electricity consumption by 3-5%. Besides, they can also provide details about electricity rates at different times of the day. This gives consumers the opportunity to use energy during off-peak hours and save significantly on electricity bills.
This section focuses on the challenges that governments from around the world have faced when deploying, updating, and replacing smart electricity meters, mainly due to the expense involved in these processes. It also claims that such costs have to be paid either by the governments or local utilities, which may slow down their deployment, especially in less wealthy countries. It also lists some of the factors behind consumer opposition to their deployment, like smart meters billing incorrectly and concern about the potential health impact of introducing a producer of electromagnetic radiation in homes.
This section of the report focuses on the communication technologies deployed in smart metering systems, including both wireless communication options and fixed wired connections. It also explains that many smart meters are also equipped with Short Range communication capabilities to communicate with home area network (HAN) devices or in-home displays (IHDs) and then goes on to explain how these devices function and their benefits. It also says that the market is highly fragmented in terms of communication technologies and device vendors and discusses how using eSIM in smart metering can help cellular meter operators, as it provides more flexibility.
In a tabular format, this section then charts the communication technologies that are used in electricity smart meters, across various geographies, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, the UAE, the UK, the US, Latin America, South-East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, in Ireland, all electricity smart meters used cellular technology, typically 2G during their initial rollout. In addition, Zigbee and Wi-Fi are being used for current deployments.
This section of the report provides some examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, like Airtel Business supplying NB-IoT based smart electricity meters solutions to Adani Energy Solutions, and LinzNet deploying smart meters using NES PLC communication technology.
The key vendors section lists some of the main providers of products and services related to the market, such as Aclara, Elster, Holley Metering, Itron, Iskraemeco, Kamstrup, Landis+Gyr, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and Wirepas. The report provides profiles of the various vendors including aspects most relevant to this Application Group, such as product offerings, pricing, financial results, and technology.
In the market forecasts section, we provide a summary of the forecasts from the Transforma Insights IoT Forecast Database:
The report charts the growth in the number of devices, which will grow from 1.3 billion in 2024 to 2.3 billion in 2034.
Transforma Insights forecasts are compiled on a country-by-country basis. This report includes a regional summary, showing splits between Australasia, Greater China, North America, Europe, Japan, Latin America, MENA, Russia & Central Asia, South East Asia, South Korea, India & South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transforma Insights’ IoT forecasts include splits between the various connectivity technologies as follows: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G mMTC, 5G non-mMTC, LPWA (non-mMTC), Satellite, Short Range, and Other.
This section discusses which technologies will be used in the electricity smart meters application group.
This part of the report discusses the market growth in terms of revenue (module revenue, service wrap revenue, and VAC revenue). Transforma Insights estimates that the revenue in the Electricity Smart Meters Application Group will grow at a CAGR of 7%.
