Smart meters, which are supposed to automatically report a household’s energy consumption to users and energy companies, use mobile phone networks to connect to energy company servers ,so they don’t have to rely on homes having broadband connections. The problem raised by the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts in its report on 20 October is that older 2G and 3G mobile networks, which are used by current smart meters, are being turned off and dismantled.
This will leave about 7 million homes without working smart meters, adding to the 3 million installed devices that already weren’t working as of March 2023, says the report.
The spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which is responsible for smart meters, says energy companies will need to foot the bill. “Energy suppliers are also obliged to upgrade communications equipment to ensure smart meters continue to be connected, and we are working with industry to support a smooth transition for consumers when 2G and 3G is switched.
Progress rolling out smart meters is too slow and the Department has not done enough to ensure consumers are convinced of their benefits. The Government’s original target was to effectively complete the rollout by 2019. However, it has adjusted its deadlines three times and reduced its target installation levels for smart meters from “‘all homes and small businesses’” in 2019, to its current target of 74.5% of homes and nearly 69% of small businesses to have smart meters by the end of 2025. At the end of March 2023, more than a decade after the rollout started, only 57% of all electricity and gas meters were smart. The Department told us suppliers are currently installing 80,000 to 85,000 smart meters each week. Although the Department considers that there is demand for smart meters from people that do not yet have one, energy suppliers argue that the remaining consumers with traditional meters are less interested in having a smart meter. Smart meters have also been the subject of much negative media attention, particularly around the forced switching of consumers to smart prepayment mode. While the Department is ultimately responsible for the Programme and Ministers have a role in promoting the benefits of smart meters to consumers, the responsibility for consumer engagement rests primarily with Smart Energy GB (a not-for-profit organisation funded by suppliers).
Recommendation 1: The Department should work with Smart Energy GB to review its public engagement strategy to ensure it drives demand for the rest of the Programme, including by clearly setting out how smart meters can benefit consumers.
We are concerned that smart meters are not achieving the consumer benefits they are supposed to and are benefitting certain, often wealthier, consumers more than others. The Department’s most recent estimates of consumer energy savings are based on data from installations that took place between 2015 and 2018 (with consumption data up to 2019). These show energy reductions of 3.3% to 3.6% for electricity and 2.9% to 3.1% for gas. However, the Department needs more up-to-date data to be confident that smart meters are saving consumers money on their energy bills, as it anticipated. If consumers are older, male, on high incomes, or homeowners then they are more likely to have smart meters. Wealthier people are also more likely than less wealthy people to be able to purchase new replacement appliances (such as washing machines) if their smart meter suggests relatively high running costs of older appliances they may own. Previously, there special smart meter tariffs were available that offered lower prices, for example for off-peak consumption —however, these have been withdrawn due to current conditions in the domestic energy market, thereby removing an incentive for smart meter installation.
You must be logged in to post a comment.