The electricity industry is one of the few industries where unconstrained demand is starting to be actively discouraged. The combination of rapidly increasing, more intense seasonal demand peaks with increasing pressure on infrastructure investment are causing the industry to look for ways of more intelligently managing demand. Smart metering is increasingly being seen as a tool through which regulators and network operators will be able to shape electricity demand patterns in the future. Smart metering will allow operators to educate and financially incent consumers to be more aware of their energy usage. Ultimately it could allow a limited level of control over non-critical load, thereby increasing the reliability of supply and asset utilization efficiency.