New smart meter technology standards to be implemented in the third quarter

　　In 2012, the total output of electric meters in China reached 110 million. Zhu Hui, an analyst at IHS Electronics & Media, believes that the production of electric meters will remain high in 2013, and the annual output is expected to be around 120 million, of which 91% are smart meters. In recent years, the domestic market demand has been rising steadily, and the government has significantly accelerated the purchase and installation of smart meters. The smart meter with AMI two-way transmission also started its pilot work in early 2013. Figure 1: China's smart meter shipments Domestic and export markets Export demand has become an important growth point for China's electric meter market. By the end of 2012, China's smart meters had been sold to more than 130 countries around the world. Analyst Zhu Hui predicts that the export volume of electric meters in 2013 will exceed 30 million, and the market share of electric meter export manufacturers will still be highly concentrated.

　　The results of the State Grid's electricity meter bidding show that in 2012, a total of about 78 million electricity meters, more than 16 million collectors/concentrators and nearly 600,000 special transformer collection terminals were purchased. The procurement targets of the two major power grid companies in 2013 are expected to remain at the same level as last year, but the investment ratios for urban and rural grids will be significantly adjusted. It is worth noting that in this year's electricity meter bidding, the government procurement price has a downward trend. Analyst Zhu Hui believes that the new regulations on procurement prices may directly increase the cost pressure of the electricity meter supply chain and even affect the quality and service life of the finished electricity meters.

　　As Zhu Hui predicted before, the entire semiconductor market related to smart meters has set off a round of reshuffle. At the end of 2012, the market share of smart meter microcontroller chips had changed significantly compared with the first half of the year; in the field of smart meter measurement chips, the two leading manufacturers continued to consolidate their market share with price advantages. In addition, as the market competition pattern of power carrier modules was broken, the market share of power carrier chips also changed significantly. At present, almost all smart meter semiconductor manufacturers are adjusting their product strategies according to the new standards.

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