What will the economic recovery do to smart metering return on investment?

The article discusses the evaluation of the quality of smart meters in the first quarter of 2010 in Europe and the U.S. It states that the demand for smart meters will increase until 2012 in which China will play a major role in the production. It emphasizes the labor shortage in China which threatens expected manufacturing output of smart meters. It highlights the risks in the return on investments for the smart meters due to the increased costs.