Smart Utilities Survey Reveals Lack of Confidence Among Smart Utilities Professionals Regarding 2020 Target

Energy & Utilities IQ has Recently Conducted a Survey Aimed to Assess the Thoughts and Concerns of Smart Utility Industry Professionals About the 2020 Target Regarding Smart Utilities set by European Governments

LONDON, April 19, 2011 - Survey respondents were from a variety of Smart Utilities companies such
as Utility Providers, Technology Providers, IT Providers and Consultants. 66%
of these respondents are currently looking into an investment in either smart
metering (23%), smart grids (5%) or both technologies (38%).

The results of this survey reveal that only 38% of industry professionals
think that the 2020 target will be met. This might be because of the lack of
government support to help move smart utility technology from theory into
practice: 76% of respondents think that the government is not doing enough.

The respondents were also questioned about what they see as the biggest
challenge in terms of introducing smart utility technology and the biggest
concern for 41% of respondents is knowing which technical solution to select.
Other major concerns of industry professionals are start up costs (16%), lack
of government support (6%) and securing internal buy in (5%). It was also
stated that convincing the consumers about the value added for them can be a
major challenge.

Another part of the survey focused on the security of smart utility
technology. For 64% of organisations involved in smart utilities, security
was stated as a concern. 39% even consider the security issues as a "serious
concern".

That is why there will be a dedicated Smart Security focus day at the
forthcoming Smart Utility Summit 2011 taking place in London 27th - 29th June
2011. The focus day will bring delegates up to date with the latest security
measures being designed to safeguard against malicious attacks as well as
addressing consumer concerns with effective customer experience strategies.

Now in its 5th year, the Smart Utility Summit 2011 is the event to bring
together Smart Metering, Smart Grids and Smart Operations allowing delegates
to cover the whole process from provider to consumer.

To find out more about the Smart Security day, the whole agenda of the
Smart Utility Summit or the speaker line up, please visit:
bit.ly/gkaQha

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Media contact: Jana Koller, jana.koller at iqpc.co.uk