AMI market seen reaching $62.12 billion by 2035

The global advanced metering infrastructure market is projected to grow from $23.50 billion in 2026 to $62.12 billion by 2035, driven by smart meter rollouts, grid modernization and rising demand for real-time energy data. The shift is reshaping how utilities manage outages, losses, distributed energy and customer billing.

Why it matters: - The AMI market is becoming a core utility infrastructure layer, not just a metering upgrade. - Utilities are using AMI to reduce outage times, cut meter-reading costs and manage more complex grids with distributed solar, storage and EV charging. - Smart meter deployment is also tied to decarbonization, non-technical loss reduction and dynamic pricing programs.

What happened: - The global advanced metering infrastructure market was estimated at $21.10 billion in 2025. - The market is projected to rise to $23.50 billion in 2026 and reach $62.12 billion by 2035. - The forecast implies a compound annual growth rate of 11.4% from 2026 through 2035. - Government-led smart meter rollout programs in the U.S., European Union and Asia-Pacific are targeting replacement of more than 1.2 billion legacy electromechanical meters by 2030. - The report says smart metering is moving from analog and one-way networks to AMI platforms with cellular IoT, edge analytics and cloud-based meter data management. - A Rocky Mountain Institute utility benchmarking study found top-quartile utilities using full AMI ecosystems and advanced distribution management systems reduced outage restoration times by 31% to 38% and cut meter-reading operating costs by more than 60% versus drive-by AMR peers. - A sample copy of the report is available here.

The details: - The report says AMI growth has been steady, rising from about $12.37 billion in 2021 to an estimated $18.64 billion in 2025. - It links future demand to smart grid investment, utility digitization, EV charging infrastructure and the spread of smart home and smart city systems. - Rising grid complexity from distributed solar, battery storage and vehicle-to-grid integration is increasing demand for real-time metering and communications. - Electric utilities, gas distributors, water authorities and municipal energy providers are all expanding AMI deployments. - The market covers electricity metering, water metering and gas metering. - Report segmentation also includes smart meters, communication networks, meter data management systems, head-end systems and other software and services. - Communication options listed in the report include RF mesh, PLC, cellular IoT, Wi-SUN and other technologies. - Deployment models include on-premise, cloud-based and hybrid systems. - The report’s full description is available here.

Between the lines: - The report frames AMI as part of a broader grid re-architecture, with utilities shifting from passive billing tools to real-time operational platforms. - Artificial intelligence and edge computing are emerging as the next feature set, with uses that include predictive outage detection, load forecasting, automated demand response and non-intrusive load monitoring. - Cellular IoT is gaining ground because NB-IoT and LTE-M offer wide coverage, deep indoor penetration and lower deployment complexity than proprietary RF mesh networks. - Competition is intensifying as vendors add generative AI, expand cybersecurity controls and integrate with distributed energy resource management and virtual power plant systems. - Multi-commodity AMI is also gaining traction as utilities extend digital metering across electricity, water and gas.

What's next: - The report expects AI-integrated AMI platforms to unlock new revenue streams through grid services, dynamic pricing and energy-as-a-service models. - It also expects AMI to deepen consumer engagement through web and mobile dashboards, time-of-use tariffs, prepayment tools and EV charging optimization. - North America is projected to remain the largest regional market at about 36% share, while Europe holds about 29%. - Asia-Pacific remains the fastest-growing deployment base, led by China’s more than 500 million installed smart meters and India’s RDSS program targeting 250 million prepaid smart meters. - The Middle East and Africa are projected to post the highest regional CAGR at about 10.4% through 2035.

The bottom line: - AMI is shifting from a utility back-office system to a central platform for grid visibility, automation and customer interaction as power networks get more digital and distributed.