The Second Wave of Rollouts and Smart Meter Use Cases to Proliferate, Driving Grid Transformation Services in Energy Transition
The global smart meter market continued to register strong growth in 2019, as major rollouts continued to accelerate. China led the trail and various pockets of Europe went ahead with large-scale pilots and installing second-generation smart meters. China continued to account for more than half of the global market, holding 56.2% of the total shipments, as the country continued the replacement cycle on an eighth-yearly basis. Key European markets are Italy and France that hold 59% of the region’s shipments, followed by the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. Europe leads the second wave of metering, with Italy and Sweden to replace existing meters, and with Finland and Denmark expected to follow suit in 2022.
The new-build market and replacement market are primary drivers for the North American market. Market growth is led by smaller utilities rolling out smart metering and higher replacement rates for the existing base with second-generation metering, all likely to drive growth in the future. Japan dominated the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market, while India, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong are expected to catalyse market growth. UAE and Saudi Arabia will continue to be the hotspots in the Middle East, while Uzbekistan and Russia will be other key markets as rollouts continue in the CIS region. Fuelled further by the COVID-19 outbreak, the laggards in smart metering such as Africa and South America are not expected to have any significant upsurge until the midterm, though there is long-term potential for recovery.
The slowdown of smart meter installations and smart grid projects as a repercussion of COVID-19 has disrupted the growth of the market in the short term, because of lockdowns, supply chain bottlenecks, logistics, new tender, and proposal delays, and restrictions and safety measures related to social distancing in field works. Regulatory requirements in developing regions for the implementation of smart metering transition are also expected to be maintained in the medium-to-long term.
With a greater emphasis on software and services, the smart metering industry has now transitioned from an equipment-biased industry to be a part of grid-related metering services. The role of smart meters has subtly changed. Power distribution companies increasingly wanting to benefit from digital service opportunities and are largely dependent on manufacturers and third parties to offer smart metering as a service beyond their traditional role of merely offering a network connection and smart meter product. Data-driven services are to be more profitable than commodity margins. Smart metering use cases for low-voltage grid visibility have become extremely crucial alongside offering additional services to customers and enabling real-time monitoring of energy consumption and energy prosumerism.
The global smart electricity meter market research provides insights into the latest developments in the market, including forecasts on unit shipment, associated revenue for all major regions, and also insights on which country markets are the key to growth.
Key Issues Addressed
- What are the key drivers and restraints for the growth of the smart meter market and what impact will they have during the forecast period?
- What is the current penetration of smart metering in key global markets?
- Which regions and countries offer the best prospects for growth during the forecast period?
- What are the predominant communication technologies in key country markets, and what is the potential for change in the future?
- Which are the key participants in the global and regional markets?
