Xylem Reach 2025 Recap – MicroEJ Ignites the Future of Edge-App Smart Metering

2025 Nov / By Elsa Hervio, Senior Marketing Manager at MicroEJ

I just came back from Xylem Reach 2025 in San Diego, and it was a truly energizing experience. This year, MicroEJ was proud to be a Gold Partner, marking our second participation after showcasing with Sensus the Stratus IQ+ smart meter powered by the VEE Energy platform last year. What struck me most was how much the conversation around smart energy has evolved in just twelve months, shifting from the promise of edge intelligence to its concrete deployment in the field.

Watch this video to get a glance at Xylem Reach experience.

From AMR to AMI and Beyond

If one message resonated throughout the event, it is that the journey from AMR to AMI is not over, it is only beginning a new phase.

AMI systems are now largely deployed, but their potential remains vastly underutilized. For utilities, the challenge is not just to replace aging meters but to modernize their infrastructure strategically, based on risk assessment and long-term value creation.

Meters currently in the field are often 10 to 15 years old, and replacing them all at once is neither realistic nor necessarily wise. The focus should be on flexibility and affordability, ensuring that modernization efforts bring tangible benefits to end customers. As one participant summarized, “The question is not when meters will break, but how we can make them evolve before they do.”

It was also emphasized that no solution fits all. The needs of a utility in the southern United States, facing heatwaves and hurricanes, are not the same as those in the north, where freezing temperatures and storm-related outages are the main threats. Hence the importance of customization, tailoring smart meters to regional realities.

The Rise of Apps at the Edge

The introduction of AMI 2.0, with apps running directly on meters, could mark a genuine turning point for the industry, but only if utilities are prepared to act on the data. As Jonathan deWerd, Principal Data Scientist at Sensus, aptly said during one session: “An app is only as useful as the action it enables.”

That quote perfectly sums up the new paradigm: it is no longer just about collecting data but about creating intelligence at the edge, transforming the meter from a passive measurement tool into an active sensor and decision enabler.

The Sensus Stratus IQ+, enhanced with the VEE Energy platform, embodies this shift. With its app-at-the-edge capability, it can evolve alongside utilities’ needs, unlocking new use cases without requiring hardware replacement. Apps such as waveform detection, location awareness, and load disaggregation illustrate the practical benefits of this approach, giving utilities new ways to understand and optimize consumption patterns in real time.

Sensus is clearly positioning itself as a leader in this transformation, leveraging software-defined metrology to extend the value of its network and bring intelligence directly to the grid’s edge.

Highlights from the Sessions

Among the most insightful sessions were those led by Derl Rhoades (Director of Electric Metrology),  Andre Smith (Product Manager, Electric Solutions) and Jonathan deWerd (Principal Data Scientist). They explored the revolutionary potential of software-defined metrology, the benefits of platforming, and how app ecosystems can accelerate innovation in metering.

One recurring theme was the complementarity of cloud and edge intelligence. Data captured inside the meter can be correlated with historical data in the cloud to detect anomalies, train AI models, and improve predictions, forming a hybrid approach that blends real-time responsiveness with long-term learning.

A particularly compelling example discussed was medium-voltage fault detection, which requires analyzing data from a network of meters along a line to precisely locate where a fault occurs. In this scenario, each meter effectively becomes a distributed intelligent sensor, helping utilities anticipate consumption patterns and manage system load more efficiently.

MicroEJ and Sensus – From Proof of Concept to Deployment

Last year at Reach, we announced the concept of apps running on the Stratus IQ+ meter. This year, we saw the momentum take off. Sensus is now moving beyond the proof-of-concept phase, with several utilities ready to start pilots as soon as the official app release is announced.

At our booth, we showcased two live demos:

• A waveform monitoring demo, where an app on the meter broadcast high-resolution current and voltage data to a remote visualization tool. This tool displayed the distinctive waveforms of various electrical devices (such as a drill or lamp dimmer), highlighting the precision of app-enabled metrology. Typical use cases include sending waveform data to an operator on demand to diagnose a defect without being on site, or automatically pushing waveforms based on triggers to enable advanced cloud analytics.
• A load disaggregation demo, showing an app running AI and neural networks at the edge to break down energy consumption by device type, providing actionable insights for both utilities and end users. This capability can support consumer engagement by giving users visibility into their consumption, or help utilities with load forecasting and peak avoidance by identifying available distributed energy resources such as solar, EVs, water heaters, and HVAC systems.

The audience engagement was remarkable. Many utilities were eager to learn when apps would be available, how securely they would be sandboxed, and whether they could be updated over the air. They also showed strong interest in the modern development environment enabled by VEE Energy, using virtual devices, IntelliJ IDEA, and multiple programming languages (C, Java, JavaScript), which allows parallel workflows between firmware and app development.

This concept of platforming drew significant attention. Because firmware updates are slow, costly, and certification-heavy, apps offer a faster, safer, and more scalable path to innovation, without compromising on security or performance.

A Shared Vision for the Future

As I left Xylem Reach 2025, one thing was clear: the energy transition is a collective journey. The next generation of smart grids will depend on tight collaboration between utilities, technology partners like Sensus, and enablers like MicroEJ to define use cases and co-create solutions that make a real difference.

At the heart of it all lies a simple truth: software-defined intelligence is redefining the meter. With edge apps and modular platforms, we are not just measuring electricity anymore, we are building the foundation for a more connected, adaptive, and sustainable energy ecosystem.

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

The discussions at Xylem Reach showed that utilities are ready to innovate, provided they can do so safely, efficiently, and collaboratively.
If you are exploring how edge intelligence and software-defined metering can support your modernization roadmap, let’s talk.

The future of energy will be built together, one smart meter at a time.