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Innovation

Gas meters getting smart too

Smart gas meters, designed to better manage the natural gas grid, are expected to proliferate in the next six years.
Written by Larry Dignan, Contributor

Smart gas meters, designed to better manage the natural gas grid, are expected to proliferate in the next six years.

According to Pike Research, smart gas meters are expected to grow from 8.5 million in 2009 to 36.3 million in 2016. In a nutshell, the gas utility market is emulating the electric producers and updating networks, metering devices and other infrastructure.

What's also notable is that the natural grid industry is plowing ahead on smart meters without any funding from the federal government. The ROI for the smart gas grid includes lower labor costs, better accuracy, outage indicators, quality monitoring, theft prevention and remote monitoring. Combination utilities, which provide electric and natural gas service, are expected to lead the charge on smart gas meters.

Europe is expected to be the largest market for natural gas meters with 13.5 million units in the field by 2016. North America will have 12.2 million smart gas meters by 2016.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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