THE UK Government has confirmed it will undertake a review of the roll-out of smart meters.
It comes after a new documentary by BBC Panorama found people in Scotland and the north of England are more likely to encounter issues with their smart meters than those in the south of the UK.
Smart meters in Scotland use longer-range radio signals to operate, which can cause connection issues, whereas smart meters in most of England and Wales rely on mobile technology, meaning the signal can be improved by an aerial.
The smart meter initiative was first introduced by the Government in 2008, with the aim of delivering economic benefits and improving the consumer experience.
The initial target was to complete the roll-out by 2019, but this was extended to the end of 2025 with the aim of installing smart meters in 74.5% of homes.
More than a decade later, the UK Government’s target has not been met, with just 57% of meters in the UK being smart as of last year. In Scotland, this figure is just 43%.
It is not compulsory for households to have smart meters, meaning it is up to individual energy suppliers to persuade their customers and to install them.
The National understands that the UK Government will undertake a review of its policy, as a spokesperson from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) confirmed it “will set out new plans to address these issues and improve the roll-out”.
'There are real questions'
Energy experts and campaigners have raised concerns around smart meter policy, as Frazer Scott, chief executive of non-profit organisation Energy Action Scotland, said suppliers and regulators “have simply not been doing the smart meter roll-out well enough”.
“There are real questions about whether the way in which people get meters upgraded or changed needs to be reconsidered.”, Scott told The National.
“The signal issue has always been a concern, and what is wrong is that the decision to use different signalling infrastructure wasn’t about what is best for individual customers.
“The decision should be to provide the best secure transmission infrastructure in whatever the location.
“Technical solutions exist, whether this is radio, mobile or indeed satellite but it often comes down to cost or expediency.”
Scott also said concerns had been raised that energy suppliers were “perhaps not the best mechanism” to roll out smart meters, and that the owners of the meters – known as Meter Asset Providers – should have been responsible instead.
Meanwhile, journalist and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch (below), told The National that while it was “good news” that issues around smart meters were being highlighted, the “bad news” was that they were not being considered at Westminster.
“It’s good news [BBC] Panorama are paying attention – bad news that Scotland’s new cohort of Labour MPs are not making this an important issue at Westminster, where the power and responsibility for all of this lies,” Riddoch said.
“The experts – like Frazer – suggest there’s no urgency to fitting replacement meters in affected homes, a disproportionate number of which are in Scotland.”
Riddoch added: “There’s a deadline looming. Will anyone – including Ofgem [the energy regulator] – do more than wring their hands?”
UK Government 'determined to address the issues'
A DESNZ spokesperson said “over 90%” of smart meters in Great Britain are working, with the latest figures from June showing 3.5 million were not sending automatic readings.
However, they denied that smart meter users in Scotland and the north of England were being disproportionately affected, citing Ofgem survey data from February which found that 12% of customers experienced communication issues in Scotland, compared to 11% in the north east of England, 10% in the north west, and 11% for Great Britain overall.
A spokesperson said: “Smart meters are a vital tool to give consumers more control over their energy and save money on their bills.
“That is why the Government is determined to address the issues that have affected the rollout.
“While some positive progress has been made, with more than 36 million smart meters now installed across Great Britain, we know that for too many people the consumer experience has not been good enough, and the number of meters not operating in smart mode is unacceptably high.
“We will set out new plans to address these issues and improve the rollout, alongside Ofgem, in due course.”
Scottish Labour did not respond to a request for comment.
