Unveiled: new £200 ‘smart’ meters every household must pay for (but may not work)
Minister and Bob Geldof to launch £11bn scheme to make us all use ‘green’ meters ...which other EU nations rejected
A GOVERNMENT plan to put ‘smart meters’ into every British home – costing households £200 each – will be launched this week despite fears they will not work and that they pose a security risk to power supplies.
The £11 billion project, introduced to meet EU green targets, is supposed to cut down energy consumption and reduce bills.
But official reports seen by The Mail on Sunday reveal that:
Trials show consumers with smart meters save far less energy than predicted.
Five countries considering such a plan have decided it would cost more money than it saves.
The meters do not work in a third of British homes, including high-rise flats, basements and those in rural areas.
Hackers and cyber-terrorists could break into the system causing chaos in the national grid, or carry out large-scale fraud by fiddling bills.
Energy companies will begin the mass installation of smart meters next year at a cost of at least £200 per home, and have admitted the expense will be passed on to customers.
Sir Bob Geldof will launch an expensive publicity drive, featuring ‘out of control’ cartoon characters called Gaz and Leccy, on Tuesday. Last night he confirmed he was being paid for the campaign, but refused to reveal how much, saying it was ‘none of your f***ing business’.
The cost of his appearance will also be added to bills.
Last night Margaret Hodge, chairman of the powerful Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: ‘This is a typical
‘We can already get this information on phones’
Government project – they set up a big scheme but don’t think about the costs to the consumer because it’s being driven by the energy companies. This expensive equipment is already out-of-date, because we could get the information on our smartphones.
‘The Government should really think about the technology they are using and make sure that the consumer benefits.’
The National Audit Office, the public spending watchdog, said in a report: ‘Significant risks remain, including potential consumer resistance to smart meters, technical issues, the readiness of suppliers, network operators and the supply chain for large-scale installation and the robustness of data security and privacy arrangements.’
Smart meters work by recording gas and electricity consumption every 30 minutes. Consumers are also given monitors called InHome Displays, which let them see how much power they are using at any time and how much it is costing them.
Supporters say extra information will encourage people to use less energy, cutting their bills and helping the environment. They will also be able to see times when it is cheaper to run appliances, and will be allowed to switch energy supplier more quickly.
Energy firms benefit because they will no longer have to send meter-readers into homes, and will be able to disconnect customers more easily if they do not pay their bills.
Smart meters are being introduced under a 2009 EU proposal. The UK scheme was the brainchild of Labour leader Ed Miliband when he was Energy Secretary in the last government.
The plans for this country have been devised following years of discussions by Whitehall committees, endlessly updated calculations and advice costing £44million from three consultancy firms.
Each home gas and electricity meter and energy monitor will ‘talk’ to another device called a Communications Hub, using a wireless communication method called ZigBee, which was designed not for mass consumers, but university labs.
ZigBee does not work in buildings with thick walls, or in multistorey flats – that make up 30 per cent of homes. Scientists are trying to develop a new, low-frequency version that will – but project insiders say it may take years to iron out its bugs.
Once it has the information from the meters, the hub will send it by mobile phone-type signals to gigantic computer switching centres, which will then pass the data on to the relevant gas and electric supply firm.
Another difficulty may occur at this stage in rural areas where the phone signal is patchy.
Energy computer specialist Nick Hunn, who has advised the Government, said combining so many new and untried technologies at once was ‘risky and unprecedented’. He added: ‘Systems like wi-fi, Bluetooth and 3G took ten years to have their problems fixed and become stable. The Department of Energy and Climate Change expects it to work perfectly on day one. It’s a recipe for disaster.’ The DECC says smart metering will cost £11billion, to be passed on from energy firms to consumers. At least £3 a year is already being added to bills to cover the suppliers’ cost of buying the meters. A recent European Commission report states ‘a smart metering system could cost on average £158 to £198 per customer’. The Government’s latest Impact Assessment puts the cost of installing dual fuel meters at £214.80, which will be added to bills. It claims this will be offset by massive savings. In all, the ‘benefits’ of the meters will amount to £17billion – a net £6billion saving.
Overall, DECC says, electricity use will fall by 2.8 per cent, and gas by 2 per cent. However, customers will not be forced to have smart meters and if many people refuse the meters, the hoped-for savings in money and carbon emissions will be lost.
Gordon Hughes, Professor of
Economics at Edinburgh University and one of the country’s leading energy experts, said last night: ‘I’ve been asking, where is the evidence that people will make major changes to their way of living?
‘It’s just not there. We’re about to add to people’s bills for the sake of benefits that will not justify the cost.’
Alex Henney, a former director of London Electricity and a global electricity consultant, likened smart meters to the computerized NHS records fiasco, which wasted £12billion, saying: ‘The smart meter rollout bears all the hallmarks of the next great government IT crash.’
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Baroness Verma, said last night: ‘Smart meters will give consumers control over their energy use and help them reduce their bills.’