Smart Meters by Mandate: 96.3 Million European Households Should Have Them by 2014

A new research report from Berg Insight says 96.3 million European households will have smart meters by 2014. That number — and the rate of growth it represents — indicates that the European Union-wide target of 80% smart meter penetration by 2020 is well within reach. Italy was the first European country to adopt the Smart Grid technology; Sweden made intelligent meters mandatory in 2009, and other countries followed. Some countries, however, are not so accommodating. Germany and The Netherlands are resisting the technology because of privacy concerns.

Quick Take: In the U.S., smart meter sales have been driven by stimulus funding, by federal and regulatory pressure (in a few jurisdictions) and by adding multiple value streams together to make a business case. (Typically labor savings, plus demand response, plus system efficiencies of one kind or another.) Europe doesn't have the benefit of big stimulus dollars. Nor are its utilities doing much to find additional value via demand response. As a result, meters there are still largely a top-down phenomenon, appearing in countries only when mandated from above.

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