Global smart meter shipments in the second quarter grew 33.6% over the previous quarter, and were up nearly 51.3% year-over-year, according to a new report from IDC Energy Insights. By the end of 2016, IDC expects worldwide annual meter shipments to surpass 130 million units.
The U.S. market continues to lose momentum in the smart metering market, and activity is now shifting to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, IDC says.
In Europe, utilities are actively testing various advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technologies, and many European Union (EU) member states have signaled their commitment to embrace smart metering in compliance with the European legislation mandating deployment of smart meters where economically feasible. These states are now in the process of finalizing the regulatory framework for their respective national rollouts, which are to be completed by 2020.
As large smart meter tenders are not expected in the EU before the second half of 2013, global meter vendors are actively exploring new market opportunities in other geographic regions, IDC explains. In light of their rapidly increasing energy consumption, outdated energy infrastructure and problems with energy loss/theft, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) hold significant potential for the AMI industry, the company adds.
