With grid-connected devices like smart thermostats, electric vehicles, battery storage, heat pumps and solar panels expected to nearly quadruple in the next few years, the electric grid will grow increasingly complex. That complexity presents both a risk and an opportunity. If utilities fail to properly manage these resources, they risk needing to make significant capital expenditures to expand the grid, driving electricity prices up. However, there is an immense opportunity to make prudent investments that will allow utilities to intelligently tap into these resources and provide clean, low-cost power and other grid services. Next-generation advanced metering infrastructure, or AMI, can serve as the backbone of the modern decentralized grid, mitigating risk and taking advantage of opportunities — but only if we use it to its full potential.

AMI with capabilities like edge computing allows utilities and customers to see in real-time how these grid-connected, controllable devices can impact the grid. Once the infrastructure is there, the meters can make the grid work better for customers by allowing device owners to coordinate their electricity usage to reduce stress on the grid and earn savings on their monthly bills.

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