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Smart Grid Deployment Tracker 3Q10; New Market Activity and Market Share Analysis for Smart Meters, AMI Communications Modules, and Smart Grid Systems Integrators
Jevan Fox and Clint Wheelock, November 2010 (Pike Research)

"…The second and third quarters of 2010 (2Q10 and 3Q10) included advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) smart meter deployment announcements covering 910,500 customers from five different utilities, an increase from 146,000 new endpoints announced in 1Q10.

"The largest project announced during this period was the Salt River Project AMI expansion announcement on May 18, 2010. The Arizona utility – the third largest public power utility in the United States – increased their deployment of Elster’s EnergyAxis by 500,000 meters…[T]he major announcement of 3Q10 was Florida-based Lakeland Electric’s selection of Sensus meters and the FlexNet RF communications system…Florida’s third largest public utility will begin rolling out 120,000 endpoints – of which 10,000 will have remote connect and disconnect capabilities – in 1Q11."

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"The announcements of smart grid and AMI smart meter deployments have slowed since the second half of 2009 (2H09), with no larger smart grid deployment announcements in 2Q10 or 3Q10 – only AMI smart meter deployments. A majority of the 7.1 million endpoints announced in 2H09 were directly related to the stimulus grants awarded in October 2009, though smart grid and AMI deployment announcements…[trickled out in] 2Q10 and 3Q10, as several utilities are revealing vendor selections and moving forward with AMI projects.

"…As pilot programs come to the end of their terms, more utilities will be selecting meter and communication vendors…Pike Research analysis shows that smart grid deployment and AMI smart meter deployment announcements will increase drastically throughout the [2H2010]…"

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"…In the AMI sector, Landis+Gyr continued to lead in market share…having surpassed Itron in 4Q09. Itron remains the #2 market share player, but has been losing market share every quarter for the past year. Also significant was Elster’s push to gain market share with EnergyAxis, collecting several smaller but notable utility wins…In communications modules, Silver Springs Networks (SSN) claimed the largest market share, beating out Itron, Sensus, and L+G by margins of 7%, 12%, and 13% respectively.

"With major announcements still to come regarding vendor selection, technology reliability, and communication standards presently being worked on, the communications module market is poised for an expanded period of activity. Of note in the second quarter was Texas-New Mexico Power’s (TNMP) selection of SmartSynch, resulting in the largest residential AMI deployment using a public wireless network in the United States."