Metering.com 23 FEBRUARY 2017
Energy market intelligence firm Frost and Sullivan predicts that the global smart meter installation rate will reach 85 million annually by 2025.
Increased implementation of regulatory initiatives especially in Europe will drive the growth of the smart meters market stimulated by efforts to reduce utilities’ non-technical losses, improve billing accuracy and expand renewable energy portfolios.
Malavika Tohani, research director of the Energy and Environment division at Frost and Sullivan, said: “In a highly competitive and commoditised market with little product innovation, leading players such as Landis+Gyr, Itron, Wasion and Hexing are pursuing price differentiation strategies and offering a complete technology solution.
“Price competition will continue to intensify, particularly as Chinese meter manufacturers start aggressively targeting the international market once their domestic rollout is completed in 2018.”
Europe is expected to dominate other regions in terms of revenue adoption within the global smart meters market by 2020 followed by the Asia-Pacific region.
Countries like the UK, France, Germany, Austria and Spain are expected to lead in smart meter adoption to meet smart meter deadline targets set under regional and state-based policies.
In Asia, South Korea is expected to emerge as a key market for smart meters as installation is projected to reach 2.5 million units per year between 2015 and 2025.
Africa is forecasted to lag behind in using smart metering systems as utilities will mainly focus on installing basic metering systems including prepaid meters.
However, “smart metering as a service will increase as meter manufacturers look for ways to attract investment from utilities that lack the financial resources to implement a capex-led rollout,” added Tohani.
According to its findings, Frost & Sullivan attributes the smart meter growth in China, as the primary driver in overall growth in the AMI market (reaching 115 million installations in 2015) globally.
‘Smart Grid Solutions Company of the Year’
In other news, just recently, Frost and Sullivan has named Itron the ‘2016 Asia Pacific Smart Grid Solutions Company of the Year’ for its comprehensive smart grid solutions. [Frost and Sullivan issues guidelines on grid connectivity]
The award was presented during Australian Utility Week and recognises the company’s performance in 2015 as a result of its ability to address unmet customer needs and exceed their expectations with its OpenWay Riva IoT solution.
“Itron is a leader in technology and services, offering solutions to utilities across the globe that help them be more resourceful with energy and water. The company has demonstrated an ability to meet the emerging needs of the Asia Pacific smart grid solutions market with its OpenWay Riva solution,” said Avanthika Satheesh, industry analyst for energy and environment at Frost and Sullivan.
The smart grid solutions market in the Asia Pacific region saw significant developments in 2015 with an increase in smart metering, demand response and grid automation investments in Japan and South Korea. Smart grid testbeds and smart metering trials grew in Southeast Asia and Australasia.