Climate & Environment
Smart Meter
Definition
A smart meter is a digital meter that records energy consumption at short intervals and communicates automatically with the supplier, replacing estimated billing and manual reads. Paired with in-home displays or apps, it gives consumers visibility of their usage; at system level, smart meters enable time-of-use tariffs, demand response, faster outage detection and the settlement of rooftop solar and EV charging.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Smart Meter” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
The technology structures national rollout programmes (EU targets, GB rollout), dynamic tariff products, demand response markets and prosumer settlement.
Why it matters
A flexible, renewable-powered grid needs to know what is being used, where, when; smart meters are the nervous system of that grid.