According to a recent report from Pike Research, the installed base of smart meters in the Asia Pacific region will total over 350 million by 2016, with Japan, China and Australia achieving smart meter penetration rates among the highest in the world.
The report says that as carbon reduction and energy efficiency efforts grow, smart meters and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) will play a vital part in an overall smart grid strategy. Andy Bae, Senior Analyst at Pike Research, said: “The last two years have seen a surge in interest and activity around smart meters in Asia Pacific. Electric utilities and solutions providers across the region are starting to experiment with and deploy a wide range of innovations by implementing nationwide smart grid projects that have smart meters at their core.”
Pike forecasts that by 2016, China will represent more than 75 percent of the installed base of smart meters in Asia Pacific, and the government has declared plans to continue a large-scale deployment through to 2020. China plans to introduce 700 million smart meter units by 2020.