EDF pays out £350,000 after missing smart meter deadline

BIG Six energy supplier EDF Energy will fork out £350,000 after missing its smart meter roll-out deadline for last year.

The supplier’s attempt to meet its 2017 goal slipped into the first weeks of this year even after it employed more workers to install the digital meters.

All major energy suppliers are bound by annual targets agreed with the regulator in order to meet the Government’s push for every household to have access to a smart meter by 2020.

The supplier will avoid an official regulatory wrist-slap from Ofgem by offering to pay up £350,000 to the regulator’s Energy Savings Trust, which supports vulnerable consumers.

The missed deadline underlines the struggles suppliers have faced in carrying out the Government’s drive. The devices promise customers more control over their energy use and lower bills. However, if customers switch, the technology can stop working.

Pete Earl, of energy comparison site Compare the Market, said there was still “a lot of widespread scepticism” towards smart meters.

“The fact that we haven’t seen the roll-out of the second generation of smart meters yet – the ones that can actually stay ‘smart’ post switching – has meant that smart meters have been in the news for the wrong reasons,” he added.