SMART METER MISERY ... is even worse than you think
Endless confusion. Hard-sell tactics. And devices that break down and may not even save cash...
THE rollout of smart meters has been plunged into chaos, with experts warning it may not be complete for another decade.
In an embarrassing climbdown, ministers admitted on Monday that suppliers will now have until 2024 to install the devices in customers’ homes.
But industry figures have told Money Mail that the new deadline is ‘still miles off’ and may take six years longer, until 2030.
They say further delays could also see costs spiral out of control, while the devices may not even cut bills for customers.
Smart meters automatically send readings to suppliers and are supposed to encourage households to reduce their energy consumption — saving money and the environment.
But the scheme has been so shambolic that just over half of homes will have a smart meter by the original 2020 deadline, while the estimated cost has already soared by £2.5 billion to £13.5 billion.
Following pressure from campaigners and Money Mail, the Government has accepted the programme needs to be slowed.
However, Mark Todd, the co-founder of Energyhelpline, warns the rollout will go on ‘for another decade at least’.
‘So far, they’ve rolled out only about a fifth of the smart meters they need to,’ he says. ‘To do the other 40million in five years looks too much. I think we are looking at 2030 as the end date.’
Lily Green, of energy expert Look After My Bills, agrees. ‘When you crunch the numbers, 2024 is ambitious,’ she says. ‘There are around 16.6 million smart meters installed so far and only around two million are the newer, updated version. We are still miles off the 53 million target.’
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has admitted customers will not make savings from smart meters until 2022 and will gain only £36 a year by 2034. It claims total savings will be £19.56 billion.
Yet Mr Todd says households do not need to install the devices to cut their bills.
‘The energy saving comes from the in-home display, not the smart meter,’ he says. ‘You can fit one yourself for £40. The meter just sends readings to the supplier.
‘What Smart Energy GB has done is roll the two together to claim the rollout is saving people energy and reducing carbon emissions. It’s simply not true that smart meters are reducing carbon emissions.’
Smart Energy GB, the firm set up to promote the devices, disputes this. Robert Cheesewright, its director of corporate affairs, says: ‘The rollout is a complex national project that is helping to lay the foundations for a cleaner, greener Great Britain. Unless we upgrade our energy system, our reliance on expensive, polluting fossil fuels will only continue to grow. A smart energy system is needed to allow us to meet increasing demand in peak times with clean, renewable energy.
‘Smart meters bring an end to estimated bills and enable prepayment customers to top up.’
Richard Neudegg, uSwitch head of regulation, says that, although smart meters will ultimately result in a more efficient system and savings for consumers, ‘households are being asked to pay indirectly for benefits that will not be felt for years to come’.
The vast majority of households have been fitted with older models,