The State of Smart Meter Implementation Across Europe, Australia, and North America in 2024–2025

Smart meters are often hailed as the best solution to improve grid efficiency offering many benefits that significantly enhance consumer and utility operations. Still, they come with challenges such as low customer trust, privacy concerns, initial deployment costs, and the need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect consumer data.

In this article, we want to delve into the current landscape of Smart Meter implementation across most Western countries and the evident drive to modernise the current infrastructure.

Why invest in Smart Meters?

Smart meters offer real-time data on energy consumption and facilitate more efficient energy management, for these reasons have become pivotal in the global push towards sustainability and energy conservation.

For consumers, these devices provide detailed insights into energy usage, allowing for better control and help lower energy bills through time-of-use tariffs and avoiding estimated billing inaccuracies. Consumers can monitor their usage in real time, fostering a culture of conservation by identifying energy-intensive appliances or behaviours.

Energy Providers can improve grid management by providing data that aids in load balancing, integrating renewable energy sources, and managing peak demand more effectively. They also streamline operations by automating meter readings, reducing costs, and improving outage detection and response times.

With all those benefits, what is the state of the rollout?

Europe: A Mixed Bag of Progress

Europe’s journey with smart meters has been very fragmented, with some countries leading the charge while others lag or face challenges.

Leading Nations

Several European countries have made significant progress in smart meter deployments:

• Italy and France: Both nations have largely completed their initial smart meter rollouts. In 2022, France led with 1.9 million units installed, while Italy added 0.8 million units.

• Spain: Achieved full coverage by deploying 27 million smart meters by 2018.

• Nordic Countries: Pioneers in smart metering, with Sweden and Norway reaching near-total coverage. Sweden has achieved 100% smart meter coverage, managed by multiple DSOs. Norway reports that 99% of its residents now have smart meters.

• Ireland and Portugal: both countries are advancing their rollout and are expected to complete it this year (2025) with Portugal leading at 85% coverage and Ireland at 54%.

Challenges and Delays

Other Countries have faced challenges that have delayed or stalled the rollout.

• Germany: As of 2023, Germany has one of the lowest smart meter rollout rates in the EU. To address this, legislative changes in 2023 have set binding targets: 20% rollout by the end of 2025, 50% by the end of 2028, and 95% by the end of 2030 for residential and small business consumers.

• Belgium and Lithuania: are actively working towards meeting their smart meter deployment targets by the mid-2020s. Large-scale first-wave rollouts are currently ongoing in these countries.

• United Kingdom: The UK has experienced multiple delays in its smart meter rollout. However, the market is expected to gradually ramp up smart gas meter installations, reaching a peak of 3.4 million units in 2025.

• Poland, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary: a very slow rollout has been uptaken by those countries with deadlines postponed to 2028 and an uptake of around 20% except Hungary at 9%.

• Greece, Cyprus and Czech Republic: they have decided against a comprehensive rollout due to various reasons including cost and privacy concerns with Greece now planning to scale back from more than 7 million smart meters to 3.1 million aimed to be deployed by 2026.

Challenges arise also due to the slow uptake of the energy operators and consumers who don’t trust the new tariffs or don’t find them convenient despite the continued support of the EU with initiatives like the Horizon Europe program and new data access rules underscore the commitment to digitalizing energy management while protecting consumer privacy.

Australia: Market-Driven Approach

Australia’s strategy for smart meter implementation has been predominantly market-driven, especially outside Victoria. This approach emphasizes consumer choice, allowing individuals to opt for smart meters through their energy retailers.

While this model offers flexibility, it has resulted in slower adoption rates compared to mandated rollouts.

Early Adoption and Challenges in Victoria

Victoria initially led Australia’s smart meter initiative, mandating a statewide early rollout between 2009 and 2013.

This ambitious project faced several challenges, including cost overruns, technical issues, policy changes and public opposition, particularly concerning data privacy and health implications. These challenges led to a more cautious approach in other states and territories.

Renewed National Efforts

Even though this initial hiccup from Victoria halted the rollout, the recognition of the benefits of smart meters for energy management and the integration of renewables continued, and the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) introduced a rule in November 2024 to accelerate again the smart meter deployment.

This rule mandates universal smart meter coverage across the National Electricity Market (NEM) by December 2030. The initiative aims to provide consumers with better tools for energy management and cost savings.

Challenges

The reasons for having aslower rollut compare to tha mandate approach are all down to consumer’s trust and can be summarised in three main points:

• Consumer Education: Many consumers remain unaware of the benefits of smart meters, fearing mostly higher prices and necessitating comprehensive campaigns to highlight advantages such as real-time energy usage data and potential cost savings.

• Privacy Concerns: The granular data collected by smart meters has raised concerns about data privacy and security. Ensuring robust data protection measures and transparent policies is crucial to building public trust.

• Standardisation Across States: Australia’s federal structure means energy policies can vary by state, leading to inconsistencies in smart meter technologies, tariffs and data protocols. A harmonized national framework is essential for seamless integration and operation.

North America: Maturity and Expansion

With the U.S.A. and Canada at the forefront of the rollout, North America has one of the most mature smart meter markets globally.

Both countries are currently focusing on second-generation smart meter rollouts. These advancements aim at enhancing communication capabilities and facilitating better integration with home energy management systems and electric vehicles.

USA 80% Penetration and Regional Disparities

As of 2023, the United States has achieved a smart meter penetration rate of approximately 80%, with 130.6 million smart electricity meters installed. This widespread adoption varies a lot by region, with the Middle Atlantic and New England regions lagging behind with penetration rates of 44% and 23%, respectively.

This widespread adoption is driven by the energy providers objectives to enhance grid management, reduce peak loads, and integrate renewable energy sources.

Canada, widespread Implementation Led by Ontario

In Canada, the smart meter penetration rate is slightly higher than in the U.S., with 15.4 million smart electricity meters installed as of 2023.

Provinces like Ontario have been particularly proactive, installing over five million smart meters across the province. While other provinces are progressing at different paces, influenced by regional policies and incentives.

Conclusion

The implementation of smart meters across these regions reflects a broader trend towards modernisation of the grid infrastructure and sustainability in energy management. Europe shows a fragmented but progressing landscape, with strong policy support yet facing varied challenges. Australia adopts a cautious, market-driven approach, while North America leverages its mature market for further advancements.

As we move into 2025, the focus will likely be on gaining consumer’s trust by overcoming price, privacy and security concerns, enhancing the user experience through dynamic pricing models, and integrating smart meters into a broader smart grid ecosystem for more resilient and sustainable energy networks.

The journey is far from over, but the direction is clear: towards a smarter, more efficient energy future.