Camphol Technology Co. Ltd. is about to take on for electric utility meters. They now can save this 40
cents on each meter and will save their national utility $25M annually. I am going to relate their story. This
is a story about innovation, integration, and perhaps most importantly here, collaboration.
The “China Effect” on the Cost of Electricity Meters
The Chinese electricity meter market is by far the largest in the world due to China having the biggest
population on earth, approximately 1.4 billion people. China has one (quasi-single)
state-owned utility
called State Grid Corporation of China, arguably the biggest state-owned utility in the world. With revenues
close to $300B (1.860B ¥), State Grid was ranked as the seventh largest company in the world in Fortune
500 for 2013.
We estimate that 60 to 65 million electricity meters (Figure 1) were produced in China for
the local market in 2013, a number that is going to grow more than 10% annually in the coming years.
Keywords: electricity meter, energy measurement, energy metering system on a chip
APPLICATION NOTE 5864
INNOVATIVE CHINESE ELECTRICAL METERING
TECHNOLOGY TO SAVE CHINESE METER
MANUFACTURERS $25M ANNUALLY
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By: Gregory Guez, Business Director for Energy Solutions
Abstract: An innovative Chinese electricity meter design uses the MAX71315 ZON M3 SoC to dramatically
reduce the size and cost of an electricity meter.
A similar version of this article appeared in May 2014 in electronicsforu.com and EDN China.
Introduction
Suppose that you were about to purchase a new DVD player for $60 (USD) in your favorite electronics
shop, and you knew that you would save 40 cents by buying it from another shop 10 miles away. Would
that cost savings affect your decision? Personally, no. I would still buy it in that shop and happily spend 40
cents more, knowing that I would be saving gas and time by doing so.
Now suppose you were about to buy 62.5 million units of the same DVD player. How would that change
your decision, knowing that those same 40 cents would save you a stunning $25M?
The story above is fictionalized and anecdotic. But if you told it to the CEO of a Chinese electricity meter
manufacturer, he or she would recognize the significance immediately. “Keep your costs as low as
possible.” Most of us have heard that sometime, and it is exactly the challenge that Suzhou Galaxy
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