Smart grid initiatives have been the subject of international discussions and are now becoming consolidated in various markets, particularly the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. In South America, Brazilian smart grid projects are playing an important role, even though the regulatory and technological environments represent a major challenge to be overcome by electricity distribution companies and industry. Another factor that is critical for successful implementation of smart grids in Brazil and that has yet to be better defined is consumer engagement, as with the advent of smart grids consumers start to play a much more active role in service delivery. This article discusses various aspects of these challenges and the approach adopted by distribution companies of the CPFL Energia group. The strategy was to divide the implementation into various phases, and build a scalable initial metering infrastructure for all the customers of commercial and industrial category as the basis for the next phases. This approach can be considered by other companies to overcome the barriers faced by the sector and facilitate deployment of smart grids in Brazil and in other countries with similar characteristics. © 2015 IEEE.573578IEEE Chilean Conference on Electrical, Electronics Engineering, Information and Communication Technologies, CHILECON 201528 October 2015 through 30 October 2015119401