£13.5 BN SMART METERS FIASCO
Costly rollout delayed FOUR YEARS ++ Millions of devices plagued by glitches ++ And guess what, you’re footing bill
THE rollout of smart meters has been delayed by four years, ministers admitted last night.
In an embarrassing climbdown, they announced that families will now have until 2024 to install one of the devices. The scheme has been so shambolic that only half of homes will have a smart meter by the original 2020 deadline and the estimated cost has soared by £2.5billion to £13.5billion.
Only two million of the 15million properties with the devices have models that automatically allow customers to switch supplier.
The delay shows the Government has ‘ finally recognised reality’, according to Gillian Guy of Citizens Advice. ‘This new deadline gives suppliers time to fix ongoing technical problems and make sure customer service isn’t sidelined as the rollout continues,’ she said.
Smart meters send readings to suppliers and are supposed to encourage households to reduce their energy consumption – saving money and the environment. But
families are paying around £10 a year more through their bills to fund the rollout and are not expected to save cash until 2022.
Lily Green, of energy experts Look After My Bills, said: ‘At last the Government has faced up to the truth and admitted that the smart meter rollout is years behind. It’s been an open secret in the energy industry that the deadline will be pushed back. Suppliers are miles off from installing them in all homes.’
Customers can refuse to have a smart meter, but firms face fines if they have not done enough to promote the devices. This has led to concerns that energy giants have resorted to ‘blackmail’.
Aggressive practices include limiting the best tariffs to those with smart meters. Households have complained of technical issues, with many saying their device had stopped working after switching supplier. Another common issue is broken display screens, which show customers their usage rates.
The Government initially said every household and business must have a smart meter by 2020. But it quietly backtracked on that pledge in the 2017 Queen’s Speech by saying the meters needed only to be ‘offered’ by that time.
The new 2024 deadline is the first time ministers have appeared to admit the initial target was too ambitious.
Yesterday’s announcement came from Andrea Leadsom’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
It estimates customers will not begin to make savings from smart meters until 2022 and they will gain only £36 a year by 2034. It said suppliers will be required to meet strict annual targets after 2020, with the aim that at least 85 per cent of homes will have a new device by 2024.
Citizens Advice and the Daily Mail have long called for the rollout to be slowed down. Mrs Guy added: ‘We’ve seen some energy companies use aggressive techniques to try to persuade people to have smart meters fitted as soon as possible to meet the existing timeline.
‘We are pleased the Government is extending the deadline.
‘It’s also apparent the cost of the rollout is escalating, and the public are picking up the tab through their energy bills.
‘People will still benefit in the long run, but today’s cost-benefit analysis shows focusing on speed hasn’t worked.’
Climate change minister Lord Duncan insisted the energy system was already cheaper, greener and more efficient because of smart meters.
‘Replacing traditional gas and electricity meters is a vital upgrade to our national energy infrastructure,’ he said.
‘We remain on track for suppliers to offer every home a smart meter by the end of next year, but to maintain momentum beyond 2020 we are proposing strict yearly installation targets. This will deliver even greater benefits for households and reduce emissions – helping the UK to meet its net zero 2050 target.’
Robert Cheesewright of Smart Energy GB, the firm set up to promote the devices, said: ‘The financial and environmental benefits for households and the country far outweigh the costs by billions of pounds.’
The launch of the smart meter policy was announced by then-energy secretary Chris Huhne in July 2010.