Setting up an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) entails a significant capital outlay, and presents a big risk to the utility as the potential benefits and impacts of an AMI have yet to be fully understood and realized. In this work we present a tool to assess the benefits of the smart grid to the endusers without building the actual expensive AMI infrastructure. We describe the design and implementation of an AMI emulator that emulates the essential functionalities of the communications network as well as the accounting, monitoring and control function of the power distribution utility. We also detail a prepaid metering scheme to demonstrate the functionality of our AMI emulator.