According to a new study released by Northeast Group and LLC recently, Southeast Asian countries will invest $9.8 billion in smart grid infrastructure between 2018 and 2027. With the rapid economic development of Southeast Asian countries, the process of urbanization is accelerating, resulting in a strong growth in electricity demand. At present, there are many Southeast Asian governments and relevant sectors of the global clean energy planning and deployment, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, have begun to develop a specific smart grid technology roadmap.

But because of its low level of electrification, smart grid development in Southeast Asia will be driven by a handful of major countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam, that make smart grid investment a key pillar of their energy future. This market will become a new profit contention in the future.

It is reported that Indonesia will install 1 million prepaid energy meter, while the Indonesian State Electric Power Company will provide Keypad meters for all power connection equipment and will replace old residential meters in a large scale; TNB, Malaysia's largest power company, has implemented the AMR project and has 45,000 customers equipped with smart electric meter and GSM. Demodulators, including plans to implement AMI and smart meters, will invest $13 billion over the next 15 years to build a nationwide smart grid system, install more than 15 million smart meters, and consider providing AMI systems to residential users.

In addition, Singapore is building an Intelligent Energy System, funded jointly by the government and the Singapore Electric Power Company, which covers 4,500 households, businesses and industrial customers. The first three-year plan will include a large number of smart energy meter and communications systems based on a new generation of broadband network systems; Manila, Philippines. The company will launch a pre-paid meter project in five years, with an investment of about $7 million to provide paid-for smart meters for 40,000 residential users, and the Vietnam National Power Transmission Corporation (NPT) plans to invest about $810 million in power transmission systems in 2015.

Ben Gardner, president of Northeast Group, said, "Southeast Asia has fallen behind expectations. Singapore and Malaysia are clear leaders in the region and have begun to promote smart electric meter nationwide. Thailand has also shown a genuine commitment to smart grid infrastructure, and long-term plans are finally under way, which will help boost smart grid development in the region.

It is predicted that the smart energy meter Market in Southeast Asia will undergo a high-speed development from 2011 to 2020. The annual composite growth rate of smart meter shipments will reach 98.1%, and the annual composite growth rate varies from 60.1% to 129.3%.

China's smart electric meter industry is relatively mature, and the domestic market is gradually becoming saturated. For enterprises, opening up overseas market is a way of development.