Smart move is to ignore the meter, says energy firm
AN ENERGY customer has been told to ignore his smart meter display by a supplier after it said he had used £9 worth of energy by 6am.
Smart meters allow consumers to track their energy usage in real time with the ultimate goal of reducing how much power households use. They are made up of two components: the meter itself and an in-home display, which shows the usage.
According to industry insiders, several suppliers have begun receiving reports from customers of the latter malfunctioning, often displaying bizarre and inaccurate readings causing some customers anxiety and frustration over their energy usage.
Ron Thomas, 72, from Monmouthshire, was baffled when his meter display began telling him he had used £46 in a day, despite his monthly direct debit being set at £40. He said one morning he found his meter showing £9 worth of energy had been used by 6am.
He contacted his energy company, Shell, and a customer service assistant told him he should unplug the display. A Shell spokesman apologised to Mr Thomas and insisted that the readings being sent were correct.
He added: “We are still investigating what appears to be a wider issue affecting the in-home display of a small number of [second-generation] smart meters. This issue does not affect the data that the meters are collecting.” Another supplier told The Sunday Telegraph that the issue extended across the market and that the head of smart meters at a Big Six supplier had recently said at a meeting of energy firms that his in-home display switches off when he turns on his dishwasher.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which oversees the £11bn roll-out of smart meters, said no other suppliers had told it of a problem with in-home displays.
A spokesman said: “Any consumer experiencing problems with their inhome display should contact their supplier, which is obliged to replace it free of charge if it is not working properly.
“Over 14million smart meters are now operating, with the overwhelming majority of consumers saying the displays help them better understand their energy use.”
The Government intends to have every home equipped with a smart meter for both gas and electricity although the initial deadline of the end of next year now looks certain to be missed.
The formative years of the roll-out were plagued with problems as many of the early devices lost the ability to display energy use and send readings to suppliers if a customer switched.
A new version of the smart meter, now being widely installed, connects to a national network and should be able to switch seamlessly between suppliers.