Internet of things (IoT) technology is based on connecting each real object to the internet. Every single object is uniquely recognized and reachable over the network. IoT last mile connectivity is based on different communication technologies and protocols, where the majority is categorized as short-range networks that operate in ISM bands like Zigbee, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Short-range technologies were successfully tested and deployed in different industrial sectors. However, in the energy sectors, the deployment is challenging in certain hard to reach areas where reliable last-mile connectivity is required between the home area network (HAN) smart meters and the meter data management system (MDMS). Therefore recently, Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology implementations, which offer long-range connectivity, has emerged as a promising alternative for IoT in Energy applications. Within LPWAN, a variety of technology implementations exist and operate in licensed and unlicensed spectrum respectively like NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, and Sigfox. In this article, we discuss both the performance of LoRaWAN in a real-world environment and its deployment as a low-cost, long-range, and reliable last-mile solution for energy smart metering in urban area scenario where a short-range solution may not be the optimum one. Furthermore, a prototype that is adapted to the existing Lebanese traditional energy sector was developed to test LoRaWAN's usefulness in Lebanon.