Smart grids are becoming more important to businesses in the energy sector.

A recent survey indicates that 39% of utilities were adopting smart grid technologies. The Microsoft Worldwide Utility Industry Survey 2011 also found that 16% had not started any activities.

John C Arnold, Managing Director for the Worldwide Power and Utilities Industry at Microsoft said: “Our study clearly indicates the hype cycle is over and more utilities today are planning smart grid implementation. Utilities are finding out what they don’t know and they are, naturally, exerting some caution before making big investments, even though the willingness to spend is there.”

Smart Grids are electricity network that use digital technology to deliver electricity from suppliers to consumers. The process means energy is saved and costs are reduced.

However, with this uptake, over half of those surveyed admitted that they expected customers’ bills to become more complex and almost half expect their organisation will need significant restructuring.

Microsoft polled more than 210 electric and gas companies around the world for the survey.