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 2022, 77% of homes and businesses had a smart meter. It is projected that there will be 142 million smart meters installed by 2026.

Electric companies are committed to investing in a clean energy future. In 2023, more than 40% of all U.S. power generation came from carbon-free sources like nuclear, hydropower, wind, and solar energy. Carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation have been declining for the last decade and were 41 percent below 2005 levels at the end of 2023. Wind and solar energy accounted for 67 percent of all electricity capacity additions in the United States in 2023.

This factsheet uses the most recent data to identify the top 10 trends in energy efficiency (EE) in the electric power industry through 2022. For instance, EE programs saved 241 TWh of electricity in 2022 and saved enough electricity to power 33 million U.S. homes for one year.