350 Million Smart Meters Set for a Replacement Wave; Power Glory’s CR-T Wide-Temperature Series Is Perfectly Positioned
In 2026, China’s smart meter industry is set to experience a “wave of meter replacements” that has been brewing for years. Driven by the full implementation of the 2025 edition of the new smart meter standards and the concentrated release of demand for replacing existing meters, the industry is finally breaking free from the quagmire of low-price competition—the “price wars”—and officially entering a new cycle of high-quality development characterized by technology-driven growth, rising volumes and prices, and the reshaping of value.
350 million birds were culled in a concentrated rotation, bringing the industry back to historic highs
Based on the 8–10-year design life of smart meters, 2026 marks the peak period for the replacement of products from the previous round of tenders. According to publicly available data from State Grid Supply Chain, the total number of meters expected to be replaced that year is projected to exceed 350 million—a figure equivalent to the combined volume of tenders over the past two years.
At the same time, the widespread failure of bids in 2025—due to the full implementation of new standards for the first time and generally high corporate bid prices—has created strong demand for restocking in 2026. Driven by these two factors, a research report by Huachuang Securities predicts that State Grid’s smart meter tender volume in 2026 is expected to exceed 90 million units, with the annual total reaching approximately 100 million units—a year-over-year increase of 44%–59% compared to 2025—returning to historical highs.
Behind the rise in tender volume, what deserves even greater attention is the recovery of the average product price. Following the implementation of the new national standards, the technical barriers for electricity meters have significantly increased, accelerating the elimination of low-end production capacity. Industry competition has shifted from “price wars” to “competition based on technology, quality, and reliability.” The average winning bid price has generally increased by more than 20% compared to products under the old standards, significantly improving the industry’s profit margins.
The “Hidden Hurdle” of New-Standard Electricity Meters: Batteries Become the Core of Quality Control
Changes in tender volumes and price adjustments are merely the surface-level manifestations of industry transformation. What is truly reshaping the industry landscape are the stringent requirements set forth in the 2025 edition of the new standards regarding product performance and component reliability.
Compared to older standards, the new generation of smart meters has undergone a comprehensive upgrade from simple metering devices to smart energy IoT terminals that support data collection, edge computing, and two-way communication—and behind this expansion of functionality lies an unprecedented challenge to the reliability of internal components.
The battery is the “heart” of the smart meter. As the backup power source that ensures core functions such as clock operation, data storage, and recording of meter reading interruptions, accurate metering is impossible without a reliable battery. The challenges posed by the new generation of smart meters to batteries focus on two key dimensions:
First, adaptability to extreme temperatures. Smart meters are installed in extremely diverse environments, and the new national standard explicitly requires that they operate within a temperature range of -40°C to +70°C, imposing a strict “wide temperature range” requirement on the accompanying batteries.
Second, long service life. As the overall design life of electricity meters extends, the new standards have correspondingly raised the service life requirements for supporting components. This means that in new scenarios characterized by high loads and frequent communication, long-life, highly stable batteries have become an “unspoken necessity” for the industry.
CR-T Wide Temperature Series: A “Strategic Player” in the Smart Meter Battery Market
Thanks to years of technical expertise and precise product positioning, Power Glory’s CR-T wide-temperature-range battery series meets three stringent criteria: a wide operating temperature range, long service life, and high stability.
Power Glory’s CR-T Wide-Temperature Series button batteries fully cover the extreme temperature range of -40°C to 85°C. Not only do they perfectly meet the extreme temperature requirements of State Grid’s new-generation smart meters (-40°C to +70°C), but they also provide ample safety margins to effectively handle all kinds of extreme scenarios. Whether facing the extreme cold of northern winters or the persistent heat of southern summer distribution rooms, the CR-T series maintains stable discharge performance, completely eliminating the quality risks associated with traditional batteries failing due to environmental temperature fluctuations.
Beyond temperature adaptability, the CR-T series also prioritizes optimizing long-term service life. Thanks to its unique material system and precision manufacturing processes, the CR-T series maintains superior discharge stability even under harsh operating conditions, fully meeting the service life requirements for backup power sources in new-standard smart meters.
More importantly, high-load discharge capability was a core consideration in the CR-T series’ design from the outset. New-generation smart meters incorporate features such as remote meter reading, real-time monitoring, fault logging, and two-way communication, resulting in significantly higher power consumption compared to traditional meters. The CR-T series’ outstanding high-current discharge performance and long-term stability ensure a continuous and reliable power supply for these new-generation smart meters.
Smart Meters: We’ve Always Been There
For Power Glory, smart meters have never been a “side business,” but rather one of the key areas of expansion.
Over the past two decades, Power Glory has grown into one of the world’s leading manufacturers of primary lithium micro-batteries, offering the most comprehensive range of product categories, models, and specifications. With a monthly production capacity of 66 million units, the company ranks among the top in China. Its products are widely used in smart metering, TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems), smart healthcare, electronic price tags, the Internet of Things (IoT), and other fields, serving markets worldwide.
In the smart metering sector, Power Glory boasts a complete product portfolio and stands ready to take on new challenges at any time.
