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Smart meters

What are smart meters? 

Smart meters are modern gas, electric and water meters that collect usage data remotely and then send that data automatically to the utilities that own them. Because smart meters save providers money by not having to send employees to check the meter reads on consumption for a given time span, they are widely used in developed countries.

What are the business benefits of smart meters?

Smart meters eliminate home visits and manual reading errors by meters readers while doing away with the need for estimated monthly bills. Both utility companies and their customers benefit from their use in multiple ways. Advantages for companies include:

  • Monitors grid usage much faster than older manual methods.
  • Makes it feasible to use assets more efficiently.
  • Provides informed and better outage management.
  • Enables proactive notification on outages to customers.
  • Makes possible dynamic pricing based on user demand.
  • Automatically detects emerging problems, thereby reducing service disruptions.

Advantages for utility customers include:

  • Helps customers to adjust their usage patterns in order to lower bills.
  • Informs users on outages or service disruptions.
  • Leads to more accurate bills based on actual usage.
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