The smart electricity meter market can help lower utility costs and enhance system efficiency. It can also boost customer satisfaction. The key difference is the two-way communication among the utilitys central office and the meter.
The smart electricity meter market can transmit data on energy usage and voltage levels. This can also transmit load currents along with various important metrics. It can further execute commands like remotely disconnecting service.
What Makes It Important?
The smart electricity meter market size is growing as it is important to manage and control energy usage.
- Fast restoration after outage
It can help you to quickly identify when or where power outages happen. This subsequently eliminates the wait for customer reports. This enables faster response times while reducing both outage length and truck roll frequency. The ability to quickly identify outages brings several long lasting benefits.
Customers will value the fast power restoration as most people only notice electricity when it is gone. Outages are a key opportunity to impress customers with how quickly and efficiently you can restore service. Smart meters also lighten the load on your staff. As customers realize that they do not need to report outages, your team will spend less time fielding calls. This further allows them to focus on other tasks. Most importantly, smart meters help reduce the need for truck rolls during outages.
- Remote disconnection
While disconnecting power due to non-payment is necessary for profitability, it is an unpleasant task for everyone involved. The expenses associated with dispatching a truck to perform the disconnection only to have the customer resume payment shortly after can quickly become expensive.
Remote disconnect streamlines the shut-off process. It further eliminates the hassle and inefficiency. The benefits of remote disconnect include a significant reduction in truck rolls and preventing meter technicians from having to face customers who may be upset. This also allows you to easily schedule disconnects or reconnect automatically when customers change address.
- Easy pricing
It provides more accurate energy usage data that basically makes it easier to implement TOU rate programs that encourage customers to use energy during off-peak hours. Where regulations allow, it facilitates real-time pricing with rates that vary depending on current energy production and consumption patterns. Prepay programs help minimize overdue payments and provide customers with more payment flexibility. Those who tend to pay late might be moved to a prepay system where their service is disconnected when their balance reaches its limit.
Smart meters further enhance bidirectional metering. It basically gives customers who produce their electricity from solar or other sources the ability to track the exact amount of power they export to and import from the grid.
Smart meters go beyond pricing by offering utilities the ability to give customers better energy insights and break down consumption data by devices. It can also improve voltage regulation while helping create more energy-efficient buildings.
- Troubleshoot blinks
Another benefit of the smart electricity meter market is in terms of troubleshoot blinks. When a temporary power issue like a sag and swell occurs, identifying its cause can be a complex or costly process. This requires a truck roll to the location to determine whether the problem is with the utility or the customers equipment. Thanks to smart meters you have instant access to detailed data on when or where issues occur. This further allows you to pinpoint the cause without the need for a truck roll.
Our Related Reports:
Procurement As a Service Market
