Eighty-four percent of utilities worldwide have committed to smart meters as a part of their smart grid plan, according to a new, three-volume study on smart grid attitudes, initiatives, and opportunities —characterized as “a reality check” by the Ellicott City, Maryland-based Newton-Evans Research Company.

The percentage of utilities that will deploy smart meters was a bit higher for utilities in the United States (93%), compared to those in other nations (80% of Canadian public utilities; 76%, internationally).

The Newton-Evans survey-based report covers data from two questionnaires completed between March and June of this year. The first questionnaire was completed by public utility commissions and regulatory agencies, while the second was answered by electric utility operations and planning personnel. Respondents comprised 112 electric utilities in 31 countries, representing approximately 150 million electricity end users.

Despite the respondents’ resoundingly positive attitude toward smart meters, just under half of all utilities indicated that dynamic pricing would be an integral part of their plan. Utilities in North America leaned more toward “NO,” while 64 percent of utilities elsewhere responded “YES.” Within North America, independently operated utilities— and especially Canadian utilities— were slightly more likely to state that dynamic pricing was essential (with 54 percent and 75 percent answering “YES,” respectively).

Fifty-five percent of respondents overall reported that they have load management or demand response programs in place. The percentage of utilities with LM/DR was higher among North American utilities (60 percent) than international utilities (44 percent). Seventy percent of utility cooperatives in the United States said they currently have LM/DR in place.

The three-volume study, The Worldwide Smart Grid Market in 2011:A Reality Check and Five Year Outlook Through 2015, represents a continuing commitment of nearly 35 years of research into the equipment and technologies in use and under development in support of the electric power industry around the world.

Volume One includes assessment of survey results obtained from utilities in more than 30 countries, together with inputs from regulators from throughout the United States, as well as regulatory findings from China, India, Brazil and Mexico. Survey topics included utility views and regulatory filings related to real-time pricing, vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-building topics.

Volume Two includes sections that describe the current status and outlook for smart grid building blocks including control systems, substation automation, protection and control, outage management, distribution automation, smart infrastructure, and automated metering. The role of communications networks as the integrating force for smart grid development is also detailed.

Volume Three realistically portrays the market as it stands in 2011 and as it may look by 2015. The outlook for specific smart grid developments in each world region and in key countries within several world regions is profiled. The regional outlooks have been smoothed by taking into account regional variables including GDP, population, economic growth rates, and electrical infrastructure assets.

Brief overviews of key embryonic aspects of smart grid development are provided. Included are renewables integration, energy storage, home energy management, and electric vehicle charging stations.

The report series is priced at $3,750.00.