General Electric Co. said it will enter Japan’s growing market for next-generation power distribution systems by developing and producing network-capable power meters along with Fuji Electric Holdings Co., The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

 

“We are finalizing the deal and are just about to sign the joint venture agreement,” said a Fuji Electric spokesman, Market Watch reported.

 

Smart power meters are used to gauge electricity consumption but also have communication functions enabling them to constantly transmit data on home and office power usage so utilities companies can adjust power generation accordingly. The meters are expected to play a central role in Japan’s smart grid.

 

As TMCnet reported last month, China, the largest green house gas emitter in the world, is an “immediate” target of GE, a leading supplier of power generation and energy delivery technologies.

 

The company plans to spread the benefits of smart grid technology to China. As the first step, GE is building an extensive smart grid demonstration center in the Yangzhou New Economy and Development Zone, located on the Yangtze River in China’s Jiangsu province.