Who’s smartest in smart metering?

Tracking success in smart-metering is tricky because there are so many different paths that companies can take in this still-developing industry. While many firms focus on selling to utilities, others — like AlertMe — take the direct-to-consumer route. And while some smart-metering businesses are banking their futures on soup-to-nuts solutions, others opt to specialise in specific software, networking or metering technologies that are integrated into complete offerings in partnership with other firms in the industry.

Still, for all the various strategies they can pursue, a few smart metering companies have emerged as leaders in the European market. They include Switzerland-based Landis+Gyr, the US’s Itron and Slovenia’s Iskraemeco, which are working together in a consortium to roll out 35 million smart meters in France between 2012 and 2017.

And then there’s Tendril, a Colorado-headquartered firm that offers a suite of software and hardware products for energy monitoring, measurement and control. Having established a solid foothold in the North American utilities market, Tendril last year brought on two new executive team members aimed at expanding its international reach: Gilbert Shaw, a veteran of Itron, and Scott Durham, a former vice president at Elster.

California-based Echelon has already established its credentials on a global scale, having shipped some 2 million smart meters worldwide. In addition, it provided the underlying technology for Italy’s deployment of 27 million smart meters — the largest rollout to date — between 2000 and 2005.

Another California company, Silver Spring Networks, provides the networking technology that lets utilities monitor, measure and manage their household customers’ energy use. In addition to working with numerous utility clients across the US, Silver Spring has grown its global presence through partnerships with companies like Elster, Itron and Landis+Gyr.

The UK’s Sentec, which has seen rapid growth both domestically and overseas, has deployed nearly eight million of its sensors in smart meters — most of them for electricity — across the US. It’s now working with OnStream, National Grid’s metering business, to develop a smart electricity meter specifically for the UK, which has plans for 100-per cent smart metering by 2020. With National Grid’s service base of 20 million households, businesses and industrial customers, that partnership stands to boost Sentec’s influence in the UK considerably more into the future.

Germany’s Elster, in business in one form or another since 1836, is undoubtedly the granddaddy of the metering sector. In addition to having shipped out some 200 million meters — for electricity, gas and water — globally over the past 10 years, Elster was recently tapped by Électricité Réseau Distribution France (ERDF) to develop a proof-of-concept meter for the utility’s planned Linky project. Based on the huge smart-meter deployment in Italy, the Linky initiative aims to install 35 million smart meters across France by 2017. (As noted previously,  Landis+Gyr, Itron and Iskraemeco are also involved in this project.)

And then there’s the UK’s AlertMe, which has been marketing its products directly to consumers and last month signed a £20-million technology and service agreement with British Gas (Centrica). The pact makes AlertMe a strategic partner in British Gas’ plans to install 2 million smart meters by 2012.

With the UK’s effort just getting under way and populous countries like Germany and Poland yet to commit to smart-meter deployment strategies, the European metering market could still see the balance of power shift dramatically in coming years. Greenbang Research explores the likely developments and implications in its comprehensive report on the EU market, “Europe’s smart meter outlook for 2020: A market worth $25 billion.”