IoT in energy grid management market seen topping $26B by 2030

By AI, Created 5:31 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – The Business Research Company projects the global IoT in energy grid management market will surpass $26 billion by 2030, with North America and the U.S. leading growth. The report points to smart grid buildouts, distributed energy, real-time monitoring and grid modernization as the main drivers.

Why it matters: - The market is tied to how utilities modernize power systems, monitor assets and manage increasingly complex grids. - The forecast points to continued spending on digital infrastructure as energy systems add more distributed generation, electric vehicles and automation. - The report estimates the category will reach more than $26 billion by 2030, making it a meaningful slice of both the wider IoT market and the broader IT sector.

What happened: - The Business Research Company released a forecast on the global IoT in energy grid management market on May 14, 2026. - The report says the market will surpass $26 billion by 2030. - The category is expected to represent about 2% of the parent IoT market, which is projected at about $1,297 billion by 2030. - The report says the market will account for nearly 0.2% of the broader information technology industry, estimated at $13,788 billion by 2030. - North America is projected to be the largest region in 2030 at $9.0 billion. - The U.S. is projected to be the largest country in 2030 at $7.9 billion.

The details: - The market is forecast to grow at a 16% compound annual growth rate through 2030. - North America is expected to rise from $4.3 billion in 2025 to $9.0 billion in 2030. - The U.S. market is expected to grow from $3.8 billion in 2025 to $7.9 billion in 2030. - The report links North American growth to smart grid deployment, more solar and wind on the grid, demand for real-time visibility, predictive maintenance, grid resilience spending and regulatory pressure for digitalization and decarbonization. - The U.S. outlook is tied to advanced metering infrastructure rollout, AI-driven grid analytics, utility modernization programs, EV charging integration and cybersecurity investment. - By component, hardware is the largest segment and is expected to account for 51% of the market, or about $13 billion, in 2030. - Hardware growth is supported by smart sensors, connected devices, edge computing systems, intelligent electronic devices, communication modules, IoT-enabled substations and legacy grid upgrades. - The market is also segmented by deployment into on-premises and cloud-based. - The market is segmented by technology into wired communication and wireless communication. - The market is segmented by application into smart meters, grid monitoring, demand response, asset management and energy storage management. - The market is segmented by end user into utilities, industrial, commercial and residential buyers.

Between the lines: - The forecast suggests utilities are moving from isolated pilot projects to broader grid digitization. - Hardware leads because the market still depends on physical devices at substations, on lines and across customer networks before software layers can extract value. - The report’s growth drivers point to a grid that is becoming more distributed, more data-intensive and more exposed to weather and cyber risks. - The report says digital grid infrastructure investments should add about 2.8% annual growth to the market. - The growing integration of IoT devices should contribute around 2.5% annual growth. - Rising demand for real-time grid monitoring should contribute about 2.3% annual growth.

What’s next: - The report expects the strongest growth opportunities to remain concentrated in hardware, software and services through 2030. - Those three segments are projected to add more than $14 billion in combined market value over the next five years. - The hardware market is projected to grow by $7 billion from 2025 to 2030. - The software market is projected to grow by $4 billion over the same period. - The services market is projected to grow by $3 billion over the same period. - The Business Research Company is offering a free sample of the report and access to the full market report.

The bottom line: - IoT is becoming a core layer in grid modernization, with the biggest near-term gains likely to come from hardware deployment and North American utility spending.