Driven by the demands for highly accurate mapping of electricity, water, and gas consumption, global smart metering systems market has been treading along a highly profitable growth path lately. With the help of these systems, consumers as well as utility providers are now able to conveniently keep track of energy costs and carbon emissions. That said, even regional governments are seeking means of reducing carbon footprints and conserving energy, subject to which the deployment of smart meters has become a prime necessity rather than a symbol of opulence.
 

In the present scenario, interconnected smart grids and smart meters are being viewed as essential elements and often the first milestone in implementing a smart energy infrastructure. With the advent of wireless technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT), many traditional aspects of energy infrastructure have already changed, thereby providing an enhanced scope of development for smart metering systems market. The vertical is strictly governed by a regulatory frame of reference, with legislative bodies taking the necessary steps and initiatives to keep Smart Metering Systems Market afloat.
 

How regulatory bodies contribute toward impelling smart metering systems market outlook

The enforcement of strict norms for the implementation of energy conservation has quite overtly, played a pivotal role in augmenting smart metering systems market trends. European directives like the Measuring Instruments Directive and Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy Services are prime instances of such norms that emphasize the importance of installing metering and billing systems. The authorization of these rules enables consumers to conveniently regulate and monitor their use of energy. Indeed, such directives have led to a paradigm shift in the energy cosmos across the European zone, further adding momentum to the growth spectrum of smart metering systems market.
 

With regulatory bodies realizing the benefits of deploying energy conserving technology, several Advanced Meter Infrastructure projects have made their foray in smart metering systems industry. The United States in this regard, has made massive investments in the establishment of robust smart grids and has been following an economic stimulus plan to uphold energy conservation for the installation of smart meters across the country. On these grounds, it comes as no surprise that in 2015 the U.S. smart metering systems industry size was estimated to be over $5 billion. Indeed, driven by a strict regulatory frame of reference, U.S. smart metering systems market is expected to gain commendable returns over 2016-2024.
 

In China, the State Power Grid Corp has undertaken an attempt to replace all electromechanical meters with smart meters. As the country aims at installing more than 380 million smart meters by 2020, it is anticipated that China smart metering systems market will grow at a remarkable pace in the ensuing years. Indeed, as per estimates, China smart metering systems industry size will be pegged at $9 billion by 2024. It is thus rather overt that the efforts of regional and global regulatory bodies will revolutionize energy management through the implementation of smart grid and smart metering systems.
 

Utility industry to augment smart metering systems market share

The revenue graph of smart metering systems market has observed an incline on account of the high product demand from utilities that aim at improving customer satisfaction and providing faster interactions. With power being visible all the way to the meter, utilities can shift demand loads and optimize the method of power distribution. Apart from improvement in customer profiling and segmentation based on power consumption and reducing operational costs, smart meters are regarded as the ultimate technology that assist in the setting up of an array of smart services for industrial, commercial and residential customers.
 

Smart meters have become the first of many intelligent devices that can potentially impact the future of utilities. The advent of enhanced connectivity, machine to machine communication and e-commerce will over time inspire the utility industry to adopt new business models, in turn leading to the expansion of smart metering systems market.
 

The improvement of cellular communication has provided a consistent connectivity opportunity for smart metering infrastructure. With the pervasive scope of modern cellular networks, the development of IP infrastructure and LTE, long range, cost effective solutions have come within easy reach of the utility industry, leading to smart meters being deployed very easily, almost everywhere. The utility industry also benefits from not having to deploy or maintain the highly reliable communication infrastructure which has proven to be a good facilitator for smart metering systems.
 

The competitive hierarchy of smart metering systems market is rather fierce, and is inclusive of biggies such as Siemens AG, Schneider Electric Iskraemeco, Circutor, Itron, Osaki Electric. These companies have indeed been undertaking robust moves to develop advanced products in a bid to race ahead of their rivals. That said, the involvement of regulatory bodies requires a special mention given that energy conservation and carbon emission reduction goals that have been set to be achieved within a certain time frame in the future require these organizations to invest in means to improve the present energy consumption scenario. With the advent of concepts like smart cities, it is inevitable that the smart metering systems market will register expansive growth with escalating product demand and deployment in the years to come. As per estimates, smart metering systems industry size will be pegged at a valuation exceeding $38 billion by 2024.