The Government outlined a smart utility meter plan which could see all UK homes equipped with electronics-rich metering systems by the end of 2020.
Still in the consultation stage, the plan if confirmed will provide an important business opportuntiy to electronics 
systems firms and components suppliers.
“Based on our consultation impact assessment, rolling out smart meters to all households will deliver net benefits of between £2.5bn and £3.6bn over the next 20 years. These benefits fall to suppliers, to customers and to the country as a whole," said the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
For non-domestic metering, the Government issued a consultation on 
advanced/smart metering for small and medium sized (commercial and public sector) sites in July 2008.
“Building on the responses to that consultation, the Government is now consulting on specific proposals for the introduction of new metering requirements in this sector,” said the DECC.
It is proposed that smart meters will:
- Allow readings to be taken remotely.
- Give householders real time information on their energy use through a local display.
- Allow consumption to be subject to different tariffs at different times of the day.
“Smart meters are a key step towards future smart grids which have the potential to help our shift to a low-carbon economy - making it easier for renewable generation to feed into the grid, including micro and community level generation and will support the decarbonisation of heat and transport through the greater use of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles,” said the DECC.
In the US, Barack Obama has announced $4.5bn towards the development of smart grids
The preferred roll-out option for smart meters in the UK is the central communications model, said DECC, where energy suppliers are responsible for the installation and maintenance of the smart meter, but the communication to and from the device is coordinated by a third party across the whole of Great Britain.
Other principal models considered are: Competitive model - where energy suppliers manage all aspects of smart metering, including installation and communication. Fully centralised - where regional franchises are set up to manage the installation and operation of smart meters with the communications to and from the meters managed centrally and on a national level.
The deadline for responses is 3rd August 2009