The neverending story of the smart metering technology — What needs to be done for a happy end?

The Smart Metering Technology (SMT) forms an essential building block of smart grids. However, to date the diffusion of the SMT is low. We therefore analyze measures to foster their implementation as well as propose new regulatory requirements regarding advanced metering infrastructures (AMI). For this purpose we conducted expert interviews. The majority of interviewees consider SMT as beneficial to society. However, owing to the wide distribution of potential benefits from a large-scale SMT-rollout among various market players positive externalities occur. This situation leads to the omission of a socially desirable investment. We analyze and discuss diverse measures to overcome this gridlock. In particular, we identify three potential bottlenecks that need to be considered by regulatory agencies.