Letters to the editor

Consumers will pay for new smart meters

Sir, - Scottish Power is to invest £341 million on rolling out smart energy meters to more than five million homes across the United Kingdom.

The company dresses this up as “allowing customers to monitor their own energy use and make behaviour changes” and will “support climate change targets”.

Energy companies will eventually install 53 million smart meters and the costs will be added to energy bills.

Energy suppliers use different technologies, so it may not be possible to switch provider without a new smart meter.

Smart meters incorporate a switch that can remotely turn off power.

A Government document has already stated that should there be a danger of blackouts, which is getting more and more likely with our dependence on unreliable renewable electricity, then smart meters would be used to cut off supplies.

Hackers could compromise the National Grid.

Chinese electronic companies are manufacturing some smart meters despite warnings by the intelligence agency GCHQ that the technology poses a potential threat to national security.

Thank goodness the installation of smart meters is not compulsory.

Do readers still think that installing a smart meter in their homes is a smart move?

An example of one of the many smart meters being developed for UK homes.