Smart meters are one of the cornerstones of smart grids and digital energy because they generate a lot of data. As more and more users connect through smart meters, the amount of data available to the system also increases. The importance of smart meters is their simplicity. Compared with battery storage and electric vehicles, their entry barriers are low (front-end costs are usually borne by energy suppliers), which means that they may have the most direct impact on the average consumer. In Europe, the European Union has strong supervision over the installation of smart meters, and countries such as Sweden, Italy and Finland are already approaching 100% of the smart meter penetration rate and benefit from customer participation and active energy management initiatives.

As more and more smart meters are installed, they are open to digital retail services, such as tariff optimization, customer participation, and the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Of these advantages, IoT technology may be the most exciting: smart meters provide gateway services at the consumer level, such as demand response to commercial and industrial customers, remote building control, home energy management, and energy optimization. The opportunities for creating efficiency are enormous.