Energy Biz - September/October 2008 - (Page 36) THE dAWNiNg AgE OF AdvANCEd METERiNg iNFRASTRUCTURE By WiLLiAM OPALKA iLLUSTRATiON By BRiAN STAUFFER From hilly, rural terrain in Oregon to high-rise apartments in New York City to suburban neighborhoods and office parks that could be almost anywhere, pilot projects to field test smart meters are under way this summer. Not a moment too soon. These smart meters — 6,000 here, 10,000 there, another 20,000 somewhere else — are busily collecting data that will influence the decisions made for the operations of millions of similar units to be installed everywhere over the next few years, not to mention the multi-billion-dollar investments required to make it all work. The market is so big, in fact, that up to 50 million advanced meters could be in the pipeline by 2010, representing an investment of $18 billion, according to government estimates. While local conditions may vary, industry executives and observers agree there are several common factors driving utilities in this direction: advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is a key component of any 36 E n E rgyB i z September/October 2008
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