One of the concerns is that smart meters will make it more difficult to change suppliers

Financial worries or just looking for better value for money? Consumer champion Fergus Muirhead answers your questions Meters give customers more control over their home energy consumption

QI’VE been reading a lot recently about smart meters but I don’t know an awful lot about them. Can you explain what they are and whether they will be helpful and save me money?

ATHERE has been a lot of information about the new smart meters and also some scare stories about the problems they are causing consumers and, in some cases, the relentless push by energy providers to get them installed in every house as soon as possible. As far as I can see, the new meters are not perfect in every case yet. They are not suitable for 100 per cent of consumers but that will change as the kinks are ironed out and they are installed in every household over the next couple of years. Smart meters are the new generation of gas and electricity meters. They are replacing traditional meters and finally bringing the energy industry up to speed with modern living. They send automatic meter readings to your energy supplier, meaning accurate bills and an end to meter readings and unpredictable estimates. They should also show you exactly how much energy you’re using and what it’s costing you.

Your smart meter will show you how much energy you’re using as you use it, in pounds and pence, so understanding your outgoings will no longer be a case of guesswork.

You’ll have all the information you need to manage your budget, make energy-saving changes at home and bring down your bills.

You will also have more choice around how to pay for your gas and electricity in future, as smart prepay will be cheaper and easier to use than the current system.

Smart meters will make prepayment as easy as pay-as-you-go on your mobile. You will have the ability to switch easily between payment options with no need to change your existing smart meter.

If you choose smart prepay, you’ll be able to see how much credit you have left on your in-home display, without having to look at a meter which might be outside or in the back of a cupboard.

You will be able to receive alerts on your in-home display when you’re getting low on credit or are using emergency credit. Top up when and where you want to – online, with an app, on the phone, or by text.

Smart meters are paving the way

for smarter, greener and more energy-efficient energy provision. They are a crucial step to the development of smarter energy grids, meaning energy suppliers will be better equipped to match the supply and demand of gas and electricity.

In the future, we can also look forward to greater flexibility and choice, with cheaper optional tariffs at off-peak times. This means we will pay less to use or charge devices when electricity is not in high demand. It will also mean less pressure on the grid at busier times.

Smart meters will also be able to interact with smart appliances to help us all save energy. For example, you could programme a dishwasher to come on when electricity is cheapest or be alerted if you leave the heating or lights on by mistake.

One of the concerns people have with the new smart meters is that they will make it more difficult to change suppliers since each meter will only operate alongside the supplier that installed it. There is some truth to this at the moment.

If you have a smart meter, you can switch suppliers in exactly the same way as anyone else can.

Many people with smart meters can be switched seamlessly between suppliers but some may find that if they switch supplier they need to start sending in meter readings again. This is a temporary loss of smart functionality.

The current, first generation of smart meters will be upgraded over the air as the rollout progresses.

In the future, smart meters will make it quick and easy to shop around and change suppliers to find a better deal. They’re paving the way to a world in which we can click to switch supplier in 24 hours.

There’s a lot of really useful information on the new smart meters at smartenergygb.org