- Many energy companies are struggling to make smart meters work as intended
Around 2.6 million households have asked their energy supplier to repair their smart meter or display because it is broken, and 1.4 million have waited six months or more to fix it.
Three-quarters of households with a broken smart meter or display (74 per cent) have asked their supplier to repair the device, according to research from benchmarking firm Uswitch.
The average household has contacted their supplier four times to try to repair their device, while one in ten (10 per cent) have done so eight times or more.
Saving money: Smart meters can save money on energy bills by offering greater insight into energy usage, but can also unlock specific tariffs with lower unit rates.
Energy providers aim to install smart meters in at least 74.5 per cent of Britain’s homes by the end of 2025.
There are currently around 30.6 million smart meters in UK homes, with an additional 3.5 million smart meters in ‘traditional mode’, which operate like an old meter, without smart capability.
Uswitch found that almost one in ten (9 percent) of households with a smart meter say their device does not communicate with their supplier, while a tenth (11 percent) say the display unit is not working properly .
Why do smart meters go dumb?
Smart meters are part of the effort to create a ‘smart grid’, an important part of enabling clean energy for British homes.
But some meters go into “dumb” mode and stop communicating with the smart meter system due to technical problems.
This may be due to a problem with the meter or a weak signal from the communications network it uses to send readings.
Smart meters typically come with an in-home display that can help households monitor their energy usage, helping to save money on energy bills.
Disconnected smart meters are an industry-wide problem – there are currently more than 3.5 million in dumb mode in Britain.
Figures from energy regulator Ofgem reveal British Gas has the highest proportion (16.3 per cent), followed by Scottish Power (14.5 per cent) and EDF Energy (12.1 per cent).
In contrast, E has the lowest share (2.6 percent), ahead of Ovo (5.6 percent) and Utilita (5.8 percent).
More than a third (36 percent) of households say they do not have a smart meter installed, of which almost half (48 percent) said they could have one at some point in the future.
Reliability is an important consideration, with half (49 percent) of households without a smart meter saying they would want assurances that the technology would work correctly before installing one.
The pace of smart meter installation is slowing, suggesting that many of the households that would get one voluntarily already have one.
Uswitch regulatory director Richard Neudegg said: ‘Millions of customers do not benefit from smart technology, which allows accurate billing without the need to manually submit meter readings.
“While the vast majority of smart meters work as they should, it is vital that the industry takes urgent action to fix all disconnected smart meters, return customers the benefits and help reassure households who have until now delayed acquisition of one.
“There are a number of ways the rollout could have been improved, but the important thing is to help more consumers reap the benefits as quickly as possible.”
