Answer: At present, most of the electric energy meters used by customers are mechanical meters or electronic meters 

with single function. Intelligent electricity meter has the functions of electric energy measurement, information storage 

and processing, real-time monitoring, automatic control, information interaction, etc. It is the most important measurement 

appearance for completing the automation and intelligence of electric energy information collection.
The smart electricity meter records the real-time electricity consumption in the home, and residents can query the daily 

electricity consumption details of the previous day or recent days through the network. Through the real-time inquiry of 

electricity, it can also help residents to calculate the power consumption of relevant electrical equipment in their homes, 

"pull" out of the "big" household of electricity consumption, so that residents can use electrical appliances more reasonably 

to achieve the purpose of energy conservation. It is estimated that more than 15% of peak load and more than 10% of total 

demand can be reduced when users automatically select and optimize the power consumption mode.

2. What are the functions of smart meters?

Answer: In addition to the functions of energy metering, information storage and processing, real-time monitoring, automatic 

control, and information interaction, smart meters also support the practical needs of two-way metering, tiered electricity prices, 

time-sharing electricity prices, peak valley electricity prices, and are also the technical foundation for completing distributed 

power metering, two-way interactive services, smart homes, and smart communities.

3. What is the difference between smart meters and ordinary meters?

Answer: (1) Compared with previous electric energy meters, smart meters have added new functions such as metering information 

processing, power consumption information processing, and power consumption monitoring, which can better provide accurate 

and timely power cost accounting for power customers.
(2) With the function of two-way measurement, it supports the use of distributed power. In addition to recording the electricity entering 

the user, it can also record the electricity supplied by the user to the power grid. If users build distributed clean power generation 

facilities such as wind energy and solar energy, they can complete the transmission of surplus electricity to the grid when the generated 

electricity cannot be used by themselves, so as to achieve energy conservation and environmental protection, reduce carbon dioxide 

emissions, and improve the economic benefits of users when they are low-carbon.