The Smart Grid as a Service: A Game Changer for the Small- to Mid-Sized Utilities

Managed AMI service offerings enable utilities to roll out smart grid services without having to develop and deploy the new systems themselves.

Smart grid deployments enable and improve the efficiency within a utility’s network, deploying and leveraging a new generation of functionality and customer services. Over the past few years, the rollout of large-scale smart meter deployments and the automated meter infrastructure (AMI) that supports connectivity and applications using these meters have become the most visible examples of the work underway in the move from existing utility provisioning to smart grid capabilities. However, smaller utilities have faced challenges in developing and deploying AMI.

A new generation of AMI managed service offerings are targeting these smaller players and offer potential for extending the reach of AMI. Over the next five years AMI will continue to drive utility spending and will also represent a key entry point for managed services within the smart grid market. Managed services offer the potential to leverage a replicable model of deployment and share existing applications and data services. In return, instead of CAPEX expenditure, managed service customers pay a monthly fee as part of their operational spending.

In this research we focus on the North American market because of the unique applicability of this model to the U.S. market, given the proliferation of smaller and mid-sized utilities. In addition, the U.S. market has moved to a high penetration of smart meters. The report examines the drivers and potential for AMI Managed Services as well as forecasts the adoption of these services and profiles key players.