Electrical grids need to deliver more energy, with greater flexibility, and in a more complex environment – but with the same infrastructure – going from today’s one-way centralized electricity network towards a dynamic and bidirectional flow of energy and data.
 
AMI is usually employed in large scale electric projects to develop “smart” grids. The usual objectives are to :

• increase electric transmission and distribution efficiency
• increase electric transmission and distribution reliability
• enable energy consumers to monitor and control their energy consumption
• integrate smart meters, appliances, and system controls that enable energy providers to reduce peak electricity demands and consumption
• enable the control and monitoring of distributed, low-carbon electric generation
• develop and implement rate structures that will encourage energy conservation and peak load shifting
• enable domestic energy generation to feed back into the grid

AMI is one of the most costly investments a transmission and distribution company will make. The costs of a fixed network system, coupled with a meter-data-management solution, often represents an investment of tens of millions of dollars.

Inherently complex, a major automated metering infrastructure (AMI) implementation faces risks at many levels — technical, operational and logistical. Once a commitment is made, risk management deserves as much attention and as much focus as any other aspect of the project.