Page 8 - Gi flipbook - November 2018

NEWS | GOVERNMENT

UK’s smart meter revolution at

risk of being short-circuited

ONE OF BRITAIN’S biggest functionality after people Smart meters are seen as an essential
national infrastructure switched supplier – component of the future energy system
projects in decades is coming meaning consumers once
off the rails, according to again have to manually
a welter of criticism from submit readings.
politicians, consumer groups The figures have
and media outlets. prompted consumer group
The target is the Citizens Advice, which
government’s requirement recently called for the 2020
for energy suppliers to offer deadline to be delayed to
all homes and businesses a 2023, to declare that energy
smart meter by the end of suppliers would have to
2020, reports The Observer. work at an “increasingly
Industry and government unrealistic pace” to
both argue that the smart complete the rollout.
meters are vital for helping However, advocates
the UK’s energy system argue that the project is
cope with an increasing but finally coming of age.
variable amount of wind This year most of the
and solar power. programme’s problems
They could also reduce were meant to be fixed by
the need for costly energy suppliers switching
upgrades to power grids, from fitting first-generation
aid integration of electric meters, known as SMETS1,
cars into the energy system to second-generation
and open up a host of SMETS2 units.
innovative tariffs where Technical problems with
energy costs vary based on the newer ones have meant meters in homes was “an the technology ditched.
time of use. the government has had to important milestone”. “We really shouldn’t
But this summer saw repeatedly push back the The programme should contemplate a future where
calls for their rollout to be cut-off date for installing get a further boost from we simply abandon smart
halted because of problems SMETS1 meters. However, this month, when the issues meters and continue with
occurring after customers those problems appear to with first-generation meters old analogue meters.”
switch. A report by the have finally been solved. will begin to be fixed. This James Heappey,
British Infrastructure Group The Observer revealed will involve an over-the-air Conservative MP and
– a parliamentary body run there are now more patch to “enrol” them into Chair of the All-Party
by the former Tory Party than 30,000 SMETS2 a central body handling Parliamentary Clean Energy
Chairman Grant Shapps – meters installed in homes the meter data, run by Group, said installation of the
topped the news bulletins. and businesses across outsourcing firm Capita. older meters should continue
Separately, statistics the country – a rapid Angus Flett, Chief in the short term, despite
released in August showed acceleration from a total of Executive of that body – their problems, to stop the
that the rollout has lost just 1,000 in June. About the Data Communications rollout from faltering.
momentum at exactly the 1,000 are now being fitted Company – said it had “I certainly wouldn’t
time it should be speeding each day. made “significant progress”. argue in favour of a
up. About 1.25 million smart British Gas, the UK’s Still, there is little doubt hiatus, because then the
meters were fitted in the biggest energy supplier, has among industry watchers momentum is lost,” he said.
second quarter of 2018, up fitted more than 5,000. that the rollout remains A spokesperson at the
just one per cent on the Smaller suppliers, which have behind schedule. Department for Business,
previous quarter. been waiting for SMETS2 Alan Whitehead, Shadow Energy and Industrial
Installations have only units, say they are starting to Energy Minister, said: “The Strategy said: “More than
just passed the 13 million install them at pace. car hasn’t actually crashed 400,000 smart meters
mark – a long way from Robert Cheesewright, yet, but all the signs of a are being installed every
the 53 million there would Director of Policy and big accident are around us.” month, helping people to
be if every household and Communications at Smart Whitehead said he take control of their energy
business had one. Energy GB, the body set up believed that the 2020 use. Everyone who wants a
Of those, 940,000 to promote smart meters, target would be missed smart meter will get one by
have lost their smart said the arrival of SMETS2 but did not want to see the end of 2020.” ■

8

News.indd 3 18/10/2018 13:13