Large Smart Grid investment to reduce power theft cost

Smart grid infrastructure investment by 45 emerging market countries – including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – over the next decade will reach $274.9bn, outpacing developed countries. This investment will be aimed at reducing electricity theft, improving reliability and incorporating renewable energy into electricity grids, according to a study released recently by Northeast Group, LLC.

The annual study Emerging Markets Smart Grid: Outlook 2014 found that investments will include smart metering and advancements for transmission and distribution grids. Already, the 45 countries have deployed a total of 9.5m smart meters with two-way communications and this number is set to reach 523m by 2023.

In 2014 alone, the 45 countries are projected to deploy 5.6m smart meters. Electricity theft costs these countries $47bn annually. Investment in distribution network technology, or distribution automation, will cumulatively reach $118.8bn by 2023.

"Our third volume of this annual study pinpoints where smart grid investments will occur in emerging markets," said Ben Gardner, president of Northeast Group. "Large countries such as India and Turkey have provisional smart meter deployment targets and new financing sources are developing. In 2013, the World Bank announced a $180m smart metering project in Uzbekistan, the EBRD earmarked $251m for smart grid investment in Poland and Brazil is completing a national financing program that could release over $1bn in smart grid funding. Overall, Latin America, CEE and MENA represent large near-term opportunities, with India set to grow in the longer term."

The 190-page study includes a smart grid regulatory country index, scoring all 45 countries. Singapore, Estonia and Poland lead the index, with Slovenia and China rounding out the top five. The study includes regional forecasts from 2013-2023. These forecasts cover AMI smart metering, distribution automation, home energy management and information technology. Profiles of each country are included as well as details on key vendors and market shares.