The ABB Alpha was the first electronic polyphase meter to have wide usage by electric utilities. The Alpha meter has a wide voltage range power supply that allows it to be used on any circuit voltage between 120V and 480V - previously, utilities had to stock one of each different voltage rating of meter for a given form. Also, this meter was loaded with new functions that allowed simplification of existing meter installations. The Alpha meter is available in several styles: singlephase and polyphase, socket, A-base, and switchboard versions. In addition to all this, this model was proced competitively enough that it was not hard for utilities to choose this as their polyphase (and demand) metering solution.

In 1996, the Alpha+ version was introduced with improved software for even more functionality. Also, it was slightly redesigned to incorporate better surge and lightning protection by a physical modification to the circuit board inside and elimination of the external surge arrestors from the base.