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Energy Reporters

Smart meters rollout a flop: study 

Eirwen WilliamsEirwen WilliamsJuly 29, 2018 at 8:06 PM1
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A UK study has warned that smart meters are failing to cut energy bills and has questioned the suitability of the technology being used. 

Unlike other European countries where installation of smart meters was normally trusted to distribution network operators, in the UK the so-called big six energy firms were put in charge of the rollout after intense lobbying. 

The model appears to be one for the rest of Europe to avoid as a study by the parliamentary British infrastructure group (BIG) said “exploitative commercial agreements” meant suppliers were “needlessly replacing” meters to which they could connect. As it is estimated that it costs £250 to install a smart meter, these needless installations increased the cost of the rollout, which is passed on to residents in their bills. 

Mike O’Brien, who was Britain’s energy minister in 2008 when the scheme was initiated, said smart meters were struggling because UK families did not constantly check their energy consumption and then limit their usage.

Meters should give residents a live display of how much gas and electricity they are using but the rollout has been delayed after it was put on hold by successive governments. Suppliers were due to install 53 million devices by 2020 but the process is far behind schedule.

O’Brien said: “I had an early version. After a while, I barely looked at it, didn’t use it. We got rid of it.” 

In 2014 ministers said smart meters would cut the average combined electricity and gas bill by £26 a year but they are now expected to cut costs by just £11 a year and the installation costs have surged by £1 billion, a study said.  

Around 10 per cent of first-generation devices “go dumb” because of a weak mobile phone signal they use to communicate with the supplier and more than half stop functioning if customers switch providers, the BIG parliamentary report said this week.

“Going dumb” means they only show usage in kilowatt-hours, which mean little to the average user who expects to see a monetary breakdown. 

The BIG report said that the programme was almost certain to go over its £11-billion budget.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “Over 11 million smart and advanced meters are already benefiting households and small businesses up and down the country, and over 400,000 smart meters are being installed every month. Smart meters are expected to take £300,000 million off domestic energy bills in 2020 alone, rising to an annual saving of £1.2 billion by 2030.”

 

 

A smart meter in “dumb” mode can still be quite useful. Picture credit: Energy Reporters

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Eirwen Williams
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Eirwen Williams is a Brussels-based journalist at Energy Reporters, specializing in European energy policy, market trends, technological innovation, and energy security. A graduate of NYU’s Journalism Institute, he examines how nations and industries are navigating the continent’s energy transition. With a focus on the forces driving change, his reporting highlights the interplay between regulation, infrastructure, and new technologies shaping Europe’s energy future. Contact: [email protected]

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1 Comment
  1. Brian Snellgrove on August 10, 2018 8:57 AM

    My site compiles all references to smart meters from UK and also world wide. It has no other function apart from saving people the tedium of trawling through google with its rather strange algorithms.

    The site is mainly about 5G but Smart meters are very topical (‘5G lite’) so I recently decided to include them as well.

    There are over 2000 links so def. worth a visit. Contributions welcome.

    Love to all

    Brian Snellgrove
    UK

    Reply
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News, investigations, and analysis — our top stories every morning to start your day right.

Trending
Illustration of the internal chemistry of battery materials affecting energy flow, generated by artificial intelligence.
“These Hidden Hot Spots Hold the Key”: Scientists Uncover Secret Zones to Build Ultra-Durable EV Batteries, Triggering a Breakthrough in Car Longevity
Illustration of the ITER project’s boronization system for fusion plasma purification, generated by artificial intelligence.
“These Pipelines Are the Lifeline of Fusion”: ITER’s Half-Mile Boron Gas Network Set to Revolutionize Plasma Purity and Unleash Limitless Clean Energy
Illustration of a hydrogel-based iron-air battery developed for emergency energy solutions, generated by artificial intelligence.
“These Batteries Don’t Quit—Even at -63°F”: China’s Breakthrough Iron-Air Technology Powers Phones and LEDs in Extreme Cold, Stunning Industry Leaders
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