What Are Smart Utilities?
Smart utilities are energy (electric and gas) and water utilities that deploy connected devices across the grid and collect data that helps them deliver services more efficiently and reliably. They are one aspect of a smart city, helping an urban area be more sustainable, more responsive to natural and man-made events, and healthier for its residents. Utility companies’ operations are increasingly becoming digitized and intelligent, capable of collecting data about customer use and performing dynamic pricing, managing supply, and analyzing future resource needs. Devices used on a smart utility grid include smart meters and solar instrumentation, allowing for real-time energy purchases, rapid connection and disconnection services, monitoring and power-generation savings.
Why Smart Utilities?
With smart utilities, companies can reduce their energy expenditures, shrink their carbon footprints and procure more energy from renewable sources. IoT devices such as smart meters let utility companies replace manual readings and estimated billing with automated, exact readings and precise billing. Smart utility applications can be used by electricity, natural gas, and water utility companies.