Smart Electricity Meters are expected to grow at a CAGR of 31.1% from the time period 2009 to 2015 to achieve a figure of 302.5 million with penetration levels expected to increase from the current 15-2-% to about 50% in Europe and North America while Asia-Pacific is estimated to witness penetration levels rise from 1% to 25 % within the specified time period, reveals a new research from Berg Insight.

Some of the developed markets are even set to record 100% penetration by 2020.

According to Berg Insight, the main drivers behind the growth of smart meters will be increasing efficiency demands on the electricity sector to the implementation of energy policies related to power conservation, renewable generation and the security of supply. Some of the developed markets also have government backed initiatives to fuel the penetration of smart meters.

“Smart metering is now a globally accepted mature mainstream technology”, said Tobias Ryberg, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight and author of the report.

“All over the world we can see how IT and telecommunication has transformed the metering industry from a business of mechanical devices and manual labor to an arena for state-of-the-art technology in everything from wireless networking to data warehousing and complex system integration.” Looking ahead he predicts that the current wave of adoption will pave the way for an even greater transformation of the electricity sector where the access to detailed information in real-time will fundamentally change how power is generated, distributed and consumed.