National Grid recently announced its plans to bring smart grid electricity meters to 15,000 Worcester customers. Worcester will be a small part of a worldwide market for smart meters that is growing, according to Framingham-based IDC Energy Insights.
Shipments of smart meters, which allow utility companies and electricity consumers to track usage in real time, grew 23.8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011, driven largely by shipments to Canada and Europe, IDC said.
IDC expects Europe and Asia to continue to drive growth in the coming years and predicts shipments will surpass 140 million by 2016, up from 25.4 million in 2011.
After 2016, the company expects the market demand to shift to the developing world.
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