Fuji Electric Holdings Co. on Thursday signed a memorandum with General Electric Co. of the United States to form a joint venture to develop and produce meters for smart grids, Fuji said.

The joint venture is expected to be more than 50 percent owned by the Fuji group. GE has developed smart meters for markets outside Japan. Fuji has produced meters for more than 70 years.

Smart meters will have telecommunications functions to provide consumers with useful information for monitoring and controlling electricity consumption.