Smart meter refusals mean roll-out will miss deadline
Government failed to anticipate households’ reluctance to upgrade by target of 2024
THE smart meter roll-out will miss its 2024 deadline because the Government is underestimating how many people are rejecting the meters, a report has claimed.
The project, which aims to put one of the devices in every household, was delayed by four years this autumn and the Government now wants energy companies to have reached 85 per cent of customers by the end of 2024.
But a report commissioned by Energy UK, the industry trade body, suggests that in the “best-case scenario”, suppliers would manage to give only 68 per cent of their customers smart meters by that date.
In a separate response to the Government’s consultation on its plans for the £13.5billion roll-out after 2020, Energy UK warned that “consumer appetite to proactively seek the installation of a smart meter has plateaued well below the levels previously hoped”.
The devices are not compulsory and many households have proved unwilling to take them amid confusion as to their benefits and fears over the security of customer data.
Smart meters were first introduced to the public as a way to save money, but this is not possible without changes in behaviour to reduce usage.
Energy UK’S response warned that hard targets imposed on suppliers would not solve the underlying problems of the roll-out.
It said: “There is the prospect that suppliers will face significant financial penalties for non-compliance of legal obligations as a result of factors outside their control.”
Speaking to MPS on the energy committee last month, Lord Duncan of
Springbank, the climate change minister, acknowledged the difficulties in convincing everyone to accept a meter.
“It is slightly easier to pick the lowhanging fruit,” Lord Duncan said. “The challenge is once you get into that 15 per cent [after the target has been met], and that’s where we need to redouble our efforts, and that’s why we are examining now how we can move into that category of individuals who are unwilling.
“There are those who don’t know about smart meters, but there is another group who are perhaps not minded to have this sort of technology in their home, fearful as they might be around privacy or data management or simply the intrusion of having somebody come into their house.”
He added: “I don’t think it is a perception issue and I think people do begin to appreciate in the short term where they can make the savings.”
Lord Duncan also said that the cost of maintaining a traditional meter could soon make it uneconomical to reject the new devices.
Around 16.5 million smart meters have been installed so far, allowing their owners to track their energy usage in real time, with the goal of reducing power consumption, and therefore bills.
However, the vast majority are an old version which risk losing many of their functions if a customer switches supplier. They are also not operable in vast swathes of the country, particularly Scotland and the north, due to network and connectivity issues.
The devices are touted as a vital tool to combat climate change and achieve the Government’s target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Eventually they will connect to a “smart” energy grid that will allow for better management of national power consumption.
A spokesman for Energy UK said: “As outlined in our consultation response, based on independent research, we believe the current targets are not achievable without further changes.”