China’s smart meter market will continue to grow

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Market reports suggest that in response to these changes, the entire smart meter semiconductor market is currently undergoing a reshuffle. Even before the new standards for smart meters were introduced, almost all semiconductor manufacturers of smart meters had already adjusted their product strategies to meet these new standards. According to IHS statistics, the total number of electricity meters shipped in China in 2012 was 110.6 million, of which 98.5 million were smart meters. In 2014, the production of electricity meters in China is expected to reach 118.4 million units, of which 107.7 million will be smart meters. In the years to come, China’s smart meter market will continue to grow, with an average annual compound growth rate of 9.5%. As the replacement rate accelerates, the production of conventional electricity meters will decline rapidly, coming close to disappearing by 2016. **In recent years, the procurement and installation of smart meters have accelerated, leading to a rapid increase in domestic demand. The bidding results of **power grid companies in 2012 showed that approximately 78 million meters were purchased that year, in addition to 16 million meter collectors/readers and 600,000 data acquisition terminals. The procurement targets for 2013 are expected to be similar to those of previous years, but the allocation of funds between urban and rural power grids will see significant changes. A trend worth noting in this year’s bidding process for electricity meters is the downward trend in purchase prices. IHS predicts that the new price regulations could directly put pressure on the entire meter supply chain, and may even affect the quality and service life of the end products.