Free electricity! But only if you have a ‘smart meter’ installed

IT COULD be a boon if you devote much of your weekend to tasks such as doing the laundry or cooking a roast.

British Gas is to offer free electricity for eight hours on either a Saturday or Sunday to 2.4million households with smart meters.

The perk is part of an effort to encourage customers to take up smart meters, which offer real-time measurement of electricity and gas usage.

A mass smart meter installation programme is under way and they are being pushed by the Government and energy firms on the basis that they will replace estimated readings with accurate bills.

The technology also allows energy firms to vary tariffs during the day – or even offer free periods. The meters will usher in an era of variable tariffs that is likely to mean prices are higher during the early evening peak.

In some scenarios, the meters could even cut the power to household appliances, such as fridges and freezers, for a time to manage electricity demand. Advocates of smart meters argue that once people see how much energy they are using – and how much it costs – on a real time basis, they will cut back. This, they claim, will cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The fact British Gas is allowing customers to go on an eight-hour energy binge at the weekends seems to counter the green claims made for the meters.

But the firm claims the scheme is more designed to shift demand to the weekend rather than encouraging people to use more. The company says the average annual saving works out at £60 a year. The FreeTime tariff will offer free electricity between 9am and 5pm on either a Saturday or Sunday. The company has 11million customers, but the tariff will only be available to those who have smart meters, currently 2.4million.

Individual customers do not pay to have a smart meter fitted to their home electricity and gas supply. Instead, the cost, which is estimated at more than £200 per household, is added to the bills of all customers.

Sarwjit Sambhi, managing director of UK Home at British Gas, said: ‘FreeTime is an industry first and will give our customers greater control of their energy use.

‘British Gas is the first to launch a smart plan that offers free electricity at weekends. ‘This will be the first of many smart meter innovations from British Gas, which will also contribute to managing the country’s demand for power from the national grid.’

But Tom Lyon, energy expert at uSwitch. com, warned that the promise of free electricity at weekends did not necessarily translate to low bills. ‘This new tariff works out at around £250 a year more expensive than the cheapest deal on the market, so customers should always shop around,’ he said.

Energy expert Ann Robinson welcomed the use of smart meters but said that other firms offered cheaper annual tariffs. ‘It’s worth thinking about cooking your roasts and stews, or doing two or three rounds of laundry on the same day,’ she said.