Smart Meters

All homes and businesses to have a smart meter by 2020, the Government has announced.

13:20 24 June 2017

The government has confirmed that the national roll-out of smart energy meters will be completed by 2020. To date, the real-time gadgets that are designed to give bill payers greater control over their usage, have been installed in seven million UK homes.

 

The government expects the move to result in annual savings of £300million in 2020 and £1.2billion a year in 2030.

 

However, Utilitywise CEO, Brendan Flattery says while the government has reiterated its commitment to the 2020 deadline - it's quite simply, just not good enough.

 

"The UK energy industry has been waiting eagerly for a new government to set out its long-term vision for the sector, and so we’re left a little disappointed after the Queen’s Speech.

 

"Smart meters are the technology of yesterday, and by the time the roll-out is complete they will be obsolete. It’s like the last government investing heavily in Blockbuster as Netflix was on the rise.

 

"It’s also concerning that all of the government’s energy focus has been on supporting households and forgetting small businesses, which are the lifeblood of our economy.

 

"We’ve been calling on the government to help small businesses by making it easier for them to switch energy supplier; by raising awareness of the benefits of switching amongst the businesses community; and finally by introducing policies that encourage businesses to invest in long term, sustainable energy efficiency measures which stand to produce national savings of £2 billion. We’re disappointed that these measures weren’t included in the Queen’s Speech."