IEI’s Thought Leaders Speak Out: Engaging Customers with Technology Dialogue Series brings together executives from electric companies and technology companies to share lessons learned and the results of using technology and data to advance residential customer engagement in energy, carbon, and pricing solutions.         ‎‎‎‎       The IEI Technology Partner Roundtable is a select group of technology companies committed to develop and deploy innovative customer solutions in partnership with electric companies.

This factsheet details why smart meters continue to be an important technology for the electric power industry. Smart meters enable more rapid two way communications between electric companies and their customers, enhance grid resiliency and provide new services for customers. In 2021, 73% of homes and businesses had a smart meter. It is projected that there will be 135 million smart meters installed by 2025, a 71% increase since 2017.

Electric companies are committed to investing in a clean energy future. In 2022, more than 40 percent of all electricity generated nationwide came from zero-emission sources like nuclear, hydropower, wind, and solar. Carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation were 36 percent below 2005 levels at the end of 2022. In 2022, investments in wind and solar energy accounted for 75 percent of all electricity capacity additions in the U.S.

This factsheet uses the most recent data to identify the top 10 things you should know about energy efficiency (EE) trends in the electric power industry through 2021. For instance, EE programs saved 237 TWh of electricity in 2021 and saved enough electricity to power 33 million U.S. homes for one year.