The smart electricity metering market in the Asia-Pacific region is approaching a significant milestone of nearly 1 billion installed devices. According to the latest research report from Berg Insight, a firm specializing in IoT analysis, the number of smart electricity meters in the region is expected to grow from 818.6 million units in 2023 to almost 1.2 billion units by 2029. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4 percent, with the 1 billion mark anticipated to be reached by mid-2026. Alongside this growth, the penetration rate of smart meters will increase from 61 percent in 2023 to 80 percent in 2029, with cumulative shipments during 2024–2029 totaling 872.7 million units.
East Asia, encompassing China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, has been at the forefront of adopting smart metering technology within the Asia-Pacific region. These countries have undertaken ambitious nationwide rollouts, establishing themselves as the most mature markets for smart metering in the area. By the end of 2023, they accounted for over 90 percent of the installed base in the region. China has completed its smart meter rollout, while Japan is nearing the end of its own. South Korea’s rollout has experienced delays, but the national utility KEPCO plans to finish by the end of 2024. Taiwan, being the least mature market in East Asia, has an installed base of just 2.8 million smart meters. Both China and Japan have started replacing their first-generation smart meters, particularly in China where the meter life-cycle is relatively short.
Mattias Carlsson, an IoT Analyst at Berg Insight, highlighted the importance of replacing aging first-generation smart meters as a key driver for future shipments in the Asia-Pacific region. He noted that the number of smart meters tendered by China’s State Grid is expected to stabilize at around 65-70 million units per year.
While East Asia leads in smart meter adoption, the fastest growth is occurring in South and Southeast Asia, where numerous smart metering projects are underway. India is poised for significant growth, driven by a substantial governmental funding scheme introduced in the early 2020s aimed at installing 250 million smart prepayment meters. This modernization of India’s electricity grid has already yielded benefits, reducing aggregate and technical losses significantly over the past two years.
In neighboring Bangladesh, large-scale installations of smart electricity meters are also emerging, supported by a government push for smart prepayment metering. Other markets showing positive developments include Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Taiwan’s smart metering market is experiencing stable growth, backed by a state-owned utility with a strong track record of meeting targets. Indonesia, though still in the nascent stages of smart metering, represents a significant opportunity with its growing economy and large electricity user base of nearly 86 million.
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