Abstract
Definitions and benefits summary
What is an advanced meter? Advanced metering is a generic term referring to “smart” hardware and software for intelligently measuring, in detail, the consumption of electricity, gas, or water. What makes a meter ‘advanced’ or ‘smart’? The three functions that make a meter smart are:
- 1. The ability to take interval measurements, measuring both what was consumed and when.
- 2. Automatic transmission of the resulting data, eliminating the need for manual reading.
- 3. Two-way communications: the ability to both “listen” and “talk.”
Levels of sophistication categorize meters into several types - from simply measuring consumption to helping constantly and economically regulate consumption.
What do advanced meters do better? All meters measure end-user consumption of electricity and water, but advanced meters do much, much more. Advanced meters can:
- Accurately measure and control energy usage,
- Implement load control programs with local utilities,
- Monitor power quality,
- Issue emergency or condition alerts,
- Provide maintenance diagnostics and economically integrate multiple building management systems
Cost-cutting benefits are what drive customers to advanced metering.
Those benefits are realized by both improvements and brand new capabilities offered by advanced metering - for instance:
- Outage management
- System reliability
- Power quality
- Time-of-use rates
- On-demand reads
- Distribution automation
- Declining total cost of ownership
Table of Contents
The opportunity in advanced meters
- Definitions and benefits summary
- Who sells advanced meters?
- And who buys them?
- What are the financial and technology prospects?
- Where are the best prospects for selling advanced meters?
GlobalSmartEnergy' s Compass Points
- GSE predicts that over the next five years
- there will be five key transitions
- The advanced meter five years from now will include
The market
- What are vendors selling?
- Market sub-sectors
- Market size and growth
- Market geographies
- Market dynamics
- Market drivers
- Market enablers
- Market barriers
Customers
- Customer segments
- Customer buying patterns
- Large utility buying patterns
- Small utility buying patterns
- Commercial/industrial customer buying patterns
- Customer adoption trends
Trends in technology and applications
- Key technologies
- Metering hardware transitions and trends
- Metering communications technology
- Communications transitions
- Communications decision points
- Meter data management technology
- Meter data management trends
- Key applications
- Metering applications trends
- Key standards
- Hardware standards
- Communications standards
- Software standards
Vendors
- Vendor landscape
- Business models
- “Tier one” vendors
- “Tier two” vendors (selected)
- Emerging companies (selected)
Investment Considerations
- Evolution in exit opportunities
- Specialists are snapped up
- Consolidation
- IPO possibilities
- Selected transactions
