Market Trends of Europe Smart Meter Industry
Increased investments in smart grid projects in expected to drive the market growth
- Electricity demand in the European region is anticipated to increase significantly in the next few decades. For instance, according to IEA, electricity demand in Europe is anticipated to increase by 40 TWh between 2019-2025. Modernization, expansion, digitization, and decentralization of the electricity infrastructure for improved resiliency and planned investment are, thus, expected to change several market dynamics in the region.
- Utilities in the European region are rising, adopting technologies like digital twinning and artificial intelligence and, coupled with surging government support and initiatives, further attracting investments in smart grid projects. For instance, amid the ongoing energy crisis, the German ministry concerning the energy sector has introduced measures to expedite the adoption of federally funded high-saving energy efficiency initiatives. Under the new measures, vendors can start implementing their projects directly after submitting their funding application, whereas previously, they needed to wait for approval.
- The adoption of smart meters, as they are a suitable measure of future-ready technologies, paves the way for the smart grid by facilitating two-way real-time communication between DISCOMs and consumers through GPRS technologies.
- The increasing focus of European countries towards enhancing renewable energy generation capacity is also contributing to the development of smart grid infrastructure in the region as renewable energy generation plants focus more on applying advanced technologies to enhance production and distribution efficiency. By 2023, France's renewable energy sources had a power capacity exceeding 70 gigawatts. Hydropower had the highest amount of energy installed among renewable sources, reaching nearly 26 gigawatts. Around 24 gigawatts of installed capacity is attributed to wind power, with most of it located in onshore power plants.
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United Kingdom to Hold a Significant Market Share
- Replacing traditional electricity and gas meters with smart meters forms an important national infrastructure upgrade for the United Kingdom that is expected to help make the region's energy system cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable. According to the government of the United Kingdom, at the end of September 2022, there were around 30.3 million smart and advanced meters in homes and small businesses across Great Britain.
- Further, as of September 2022, a total of 23.8 million gas meters and 28.8 million electricity meters were operated by large energy suppliers in domestic properties across Great Britain. Also, at the end of September 2022, 43 percent of all domestic gas meters and 50 percent of all domestic electricity meters operated by large energy suppliers were smart. Similarly, in non-domestic sites across the region, more electricity meters operate in smart or advanced mode than gas meters (48 percent versus 37 percent).
- Moreover, with a spike in energy prices, many households in the region seek to monitor their gas and electricity usage in real-time and, crucially, how much it costs them, fueling the adoption of smart meters. For instance, per the UK Parliament, household energy bills increased by 54 percent in April 2022 and were expected to increase by 80 percent in October 2022.
- Further, the different regulations implemented to increase the deployment of smart meters in the region further contribute to the market growth. For instance, starting from January 2022, all gas and electricity suppliers in the region had a binding annual installation target to roll out smart and advanced meters to their remaining non-smart customers by the end of 2025.
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