South America Power Metering Market Outlook, 2031

Market Drivers

• Government-Mandated Digitalisation and Regulatory Push: The Brazilian government's top-down approach, with the MME establishing a 10-year digitalisation deadline and mandating minimum annual installation targets, is the primary driver of the market. ANEEL's public consultations and the opening of the free energy market provide regulatory certainty. Colombia's CREG has prioritised smart metering implementation in its 2025 regulatory agenda, with 73 projects focused on energy, gas, and liquid fuels. These binding targets create sustained, non-discretionary demand across all customer segments.
• Urgent Need to Reduce Non-Technical Losses and Theft: High electricity theft and non-technical losses are a persistent challenge across South America. Smart meters with remote disconnect and tamper detection capabilities are seen as a key solution. Brazil's smart meter deployment aims to reduce non-technical losses, which have plagued distributors for decades. The urgent need to protect revenue and improve grid security is driving investment in advanced metering infrastructure across the region.

Market Challenges

• High Costs and Low Current Penetration: A significant challenge is the high cost of smart meters, which can be up to five times more expensive than conventional devices in Brazil. Current smart meter penetration in South America remains low, with the region's average at just 9.7 percent in 2025. This high cost, combined with the need for massive infrastructure investment, presents a financial hurdle for distributors and consumers, requiring careful cost-benefit analysis and innovative financing mechanisms.
• Infrastructure Gaps and Uneven Electrification: Despite progress, electrification remains uneven across the region. In Colombia, more than 1.3 million households still lack electricity access, highlighting the infrastructure gap that must be addressed before smart metering can achieve universal coverage. The deployment of smart meters is also hindered by the lack of modern communication networks in rural and remote areas, making it difficult to transmit data from smart meters to utility head-end systems. This fragmentation creates a two-tier market where advanced solutions are viable in urban centers but face significant deployment hurdles elsewhere.

Market Trends

• Integration of Distributed Generation and Net Metering: The growing adoption of solar and wind generation across South America is creating a need for advanced metering that supports bidirectional power flow. Colombia's CREG has launched a public consultation to overhaul the Electricity Metering Code, redefining technical standards for measuring injected and consumed power as distributed generation gains scale. Brazil's opening of the free energy market is also driving demand for meters capable of net metering and dynamic pricing, expanding the market beyond basic billing meters.
• Rise of Digital Meters as a Bridge Technology: While smart meters dominate developed markets, digital meters are playing a significant role across South America where affordability and phased rollouts favour cost-effective solutions. These meters offer solid-state measurement without the two-way communication capabilities of smart meters, providing a practical bridge technology for countries in the early stages of deployment. The annual market for meters in Brazil is estimated at between 4.5 and 5 million units, dominated by conventional devices, highlighting the significant opportunity for digital meter adoption as an intermediate step.