Public dislike of smart meters threatens £11bn roll-out
THE Government’s smart meter rollout is in chaos as Big Six energy firms have admitted for the first time that more than half of households are not accepting them.
The Daily Telegraph has established the first figures on take-up rates for the devices, which show they are as low as one in five. If low acceptance rates continue, it could mean more than 13million homes never get a smart meter, which would be a huge embarrassment for the Government and its £11billion programme.
The Government has promised that every home in Britain will be offered a smart meter by 2020, with energy firms that do not comply facing huge fines.
Despite this, the Government and Ofgem, the energy regulator, are failing to track the policy’s progress, as they do not collect or hold data on the number of smart meters being offered. Instead they publish regular updates on the number of meters installed, which is now close to 8million.
SSE, the energy company, admitted that just 43 per cent of the 1.3million customers to whom it has offered a smart meter have accepted. The firm has 7.7million customers and has offered fewer than one in five of them a meter by phoning, emailing and writing to them.
Scottish Power said just 19 per cent of the 2.6million customers to whom it has offered a meter had accepted. This may be explained by the fact it is mainly using emails to offer them, which are easier to ignore than phone calls.
An SSE spokesman said the company had always planned to start the roll-out slowly. He added: “SSE strongly supports the smart meter programme, and believes the introduction ... will revolutionise the way customers engage with their energy use and supplier.”
British Gas, Npower, E.ON and EDF Energy refused to reveal the proportion of customers who have accepted smart meters. This comes as negative publicity is building around the meters, with fears that they are responsible for inaccurate bills, house fires, and may be vulnerable to hackers.
The devices are connected to the internet and track energy usage in real time so customers can accurately gauge their consumption patterns.
Earlier this year, a survey conducted by Comparethemarket.com found one in five people did not want a smart meter, with data protection fears cited as the most common reason. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy insisted the roll-out was not behind schedule. “The roll-out is on track to deliver significant benefits and is set to save consumers £300million in 2020 alone,” he said.
“Suppliers are mandated by government to offer every household and small business a smart meter by 2020, and remain committed to this target. Nearly seven million meters have been installed, with nearly 350,000 fitted every month.”