EnergyBiz - September/October 2007 - (Page 60) READ REGULARLY UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC AT WWW.ENERGYCENTRAL.COM/DM.CFM Guide&Sourcebook « MeTeriNG ANd dATA MANAGeMeNT Manufacturers ready for huge rollout MassiVE METEr uPgradE aHEad By williaM oPalKa infrastructure could send many executives’ heads spinning — units in the millions, markets measured in billions. Demand is only expected to intensify as the technology that is counted on as the prime enabler of the fifth fuel — energy efficiency — intensifies. And technical advances are counted on to provide utilities with the other benefits of smart meter initiatives, reducing their carbon footprint as they prepare for the expected regulation of emitted greenhouse gases. Annual revenues for the advanced metering infrastructure market, a bit more than $1 billion, are projected to exceed $2 billion by 2012, according to Frost & Sullivan. Just two contracts finalized in recent months illustrate the trend that is expected to play itself out multiple times over the next decade. ConvErTinG To a sMarT METEr Southern California Edison expects to spend $1.3 billion installing 5 million smart meters in its territory. The deployment of 1.3 million smart meters in Ontario has also started with the first phase of a rollout mandated by the provincial government that is expected to take four years to complete. The government of Ontario has ordered the first 800,000 smart meters to be deployed in Toronto by December 31 of this year, with the entire province completed by the end of 2010. Elster has been contracted to provide 400,000 just in Toronto. But the reality is expected to be much smoother over the next decade. Leading vendors and their suppliers say they are ready, in part because of the plans in place to meet the demands of a phased rollout of the devices. Executives of meter vendors insist they will be able to meet this demand of several million units and that the global supply chain is prepared, even though several of the more well-known vendors have manufacturing facilities only in the United States. These vendors point to several factors, the length of the rollout being the primary one. “There are $2 billion in AMR projects out for bid. These will be done over the next several www.energycentral.com E n E rgyB i z 61 http://WWW.ENERGYCENTRAL.COM/DM.CFM http://www.energycentral.com
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