Variable Growth in Smart Grid Industry Across the Asia Pacific Region

Monday 20 February 2012, Amsterdam

The report gives an in-depth analysis of the Asia Pacific (APAC) smart grid market, covering three major technologies: smart meters, synchrophasors and Remote Terminal Units (RTUs). The report covers the cumulative installed units and revenue from 2010-2020 for the three technologies for Australia, China, India, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. The report also provides the competitive analysis of RTUs for Indonesia and Malaysia installed in 2010. The report provides the policies and regulations surrounding smart grid for China, India, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. It gives global smart grid market analysis, technology analysis, technology deployments by four major technologies and APAC major countries and drivers and restraints.

Variable Growth in Smart Grid Industry Across the Asia Pacific Region

The growth in the smart grid area varies significantly from one country to another in terms of the implementation of technology. This variance is mainly due to the variable needs and demands across the APAC countries. While Australia, China and the Republic of Korea are progressing in smart meter implementation with China leading the market, countries such as China, India and New Zealand have shown growth in synchrophasors implementation with China leading in this area also. Indonesia and Malaysia have shown significant growth in installation of RTUs.

Major Stress on Reducing Transmission and Distribution Losses in the Existing Grids

The use of smart grid technology across the APAC countries has emerged as a possible answer to the transmission and distribution losses in the existing grids. Power loss is increasing with the increase in demand for electricity, especially in developing countries. In developing nations the main concern driving deployment of smart grids is the reduction of transmission and distribution losses in the current grid, whereas in developed nations the main focus is the reduction of carbon emissions.

The main reason behind the energy losses in the process of supplying electricity to consumers is due to the technical loss (grid’s inefficiency) and commercial loss (theft) in the system. Therefore, the main focus of the Government while introducing an investment plan in the power grid depends upon choosing a system that could provide higher efficiency and avoid power theft. The ability of smart grid technologies to address these concerns attracts the attention of the authorities.

China Smart Meters Market to Grow at a CAGR of 46.9% and Synchrophasors Market to Grow at a CAGR of 19.2% During Period 2010 to 2020

China will emerge as the leading nation for smart meter and synchrophasors deployment in the APAC region after recently initiating a five-year low-carbon development plan by deploying smart meters and implementing smart grids.

China is expected to lead both the smart meter and synchrophasor markets in the APAC region. The Chinese smart meter market number of cumulative units installed is expected to grow from 12 million units in 2010 to 561 million units in 2020 at a CAGR of 46.9%. The Chinese synchrophasors market cumulative units installed is expected to grow from 663 units in 2010 to 3,846 million units in 2020 at a CAGR of 19.2%.

See figure: China Smart Meter and Synchrophasors Market, Cumulative Units Installed, 2010-20

Cost-conscious Utilities in Asia Pacific Countries are Selective about Technology

Deployment of smart grid technology involves a huge amount of investment. In the Asia-Pacific region, as there are several developing nations, the utility providers in these countries are more cost conscious about accepting technology compared to the developed nations. The varying attitude of consumers in adopting a particular technology restricts the scope for its growth. The high cost related to the deployment of technologies such as synchrophasors, Outage Management Systems (OMS) and Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) restricts the scope of adoption of the smart grid among the utilities in developing nations. The utilities are mostly concerned about the short-term monetary benefits associated with the technology which restricts them from investing in and adopting the new technology. This indifferent attitude of the utilities is inhibiting the growth of the smart grid market in APAC countries.