A number of factors, such as the rise in the focus on smart grids, government policies supporting the installation of smart meters, two-way communication characteristic of such meters, surge in the consumer awareness on energy conservation, and increase in residential construction activities, are expected to drive the smart meters market at a CAGR of 4.9% in the foreseeable period (2020–2030). According to PS Intelligence, the market generated $13.1 billion revenue in 2019, which is expected to reach $20.0 billion by 2030.

One of the major factors boosting the market growth is the surging government support for the deployment of smart meters. Governments across the world are focusing on modernizing their grid network, by installing smart meters in place of conventional ones. They are rolling out laws that mandate the installation of smart meters, as part of their clean energy initiatives. For instance, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) signed a contract with the Alfanar Group in January 2020 to mount 10 million smart meters before March 2021 across Saudi Arabia and complete the whole program by March 2023.  

Furthermore, the two-way communication feature of smart meters plays a vital role in the growth of the smart meters market. Such meters are installed by end users to collect data on electricity consumption by all appliances at regular intervals, using a local area network (LAN). The data from each smart meter is gathered by local data aggregators through neighborhood area networks (NANs) and then transferred to the utility center using a wide area network (WAN). Likewise, the utility center can send information, commands, or signals to the smart meters when required.

Essentially, the rapid urbanization is the strongest smart meters market growth driver as it is leading to the rising demand for water, electricity, and cooking gas. This, in turn, is leading to air pollution, which has prompted governments to check their resource usage, which are, additionally, depleting as a result of overexploitation. Moreover, the expanding cities are leading to a construction boom, which is driving the installation of gas, electricity, and water meters, of which smart variants are being increasingly procured.

The smart meters market is classified into water meter, gas meter, and electric meter. Among these, the water meter category is expected to register the fastest growth in the forecast years due to the surging awareness regarding the depleting water sources and importance of precise meter readings. Whereas, the electric meter category accounted for the largest market share in 2019 due to the constant encouragement from various governments and jurisdictive bodies for the installation of smart electric meters. These meters offer benefits such as fraud detection, peak consumption knowledge, and energy saving.

Geographically, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) smart meters market generates the highest revenue, and it is also expected to demonstrate the fastest growth throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to the supportive government initiatives in APAC countries for the adoption of such equipment. These nations have realized the need to upgrade their grid network to international standards, to improve the utility revenue collection process and address energy challenges. For example, China continues to install a considerable number of smart meters as part of its five-year nationwide plan to improve the grid infrastructure.

Thus, the governments support for the deployment of smart meters and their two-way communication feature are expected to propel the market growth during the forecast period.