Electric meters with enhanced communication capabilities—an essential component of the smart grid—are becoming more prevalent. In 2011, more than 23% of all U.S. electrical customers had smart meters. These meters use two-way communication to connect utilities and their customers. They support demand response and distributed generation, can improve reliability, and also provide information that consumers can use to save money by managing their use of electricity.

At the end of 2011, more than 33 million U.S. customers had smart meters. So far in 2012, progress has continued, with nearly three million additional smart meter installations reported to EIA between January and August.

Smart meters, or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), can take real-time or near-real-time measurements, provide outage notification and power quality monitoring, and support in-home energy applications. The general term “advanced meters” includes meters with one-way, meter-to-utility communication (called automated meter reading, or AMR). In 2011, the count of AMR meters decreased for the first time.

via Smart meter deployments continue to rise – Today in Energy – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).