1 in 3 Smart Meter users have seen their energy usage fall claims report

The often-criticised rollout of the scheme has proven to be a bit of a headache for energy suppliers, and this new report is unlikely to do it any favours.

The survey shows that 53% of smart meter owners had not changed their energy usage after having one installed – and 16% claimed that they were now using more energy than before. 31% said they were using less power and 3% said they are now using a lot less.

“These aren’t figures we recognise. We survey over 10,000 people twice a year and those results show that people use their smart meters and in-home displays to help them save money. Every household that installs a smart meter is helping to create a greener energy system that will reduce pollution and make better use of cheaper renewable energy,” said Robert Cheesewright from Smart Energy GB , the body tasked with overseeing the smart meter rollout.

In its own recently released survey it found that 49% of people with smart meters said that they were helping them to save money and reduce usage.

Changing consumer behaviour when it comes to energy usage is a challenge and smart meters shouldn’t be promoted that they will magically cut their usage. Energy suppliers need to make it clear that just having a meter won’t save them any money, but that they empower them to have greater insight and control of their usage.

Suppliers mustinstall smart meters as OFGEM areactively penalising suppliers who fail to do so. Earlier in the year, Npower washit with a whopping £2.4 million for failing to hit a deadline for its businesssmart meter rollout, many other suppliers have also felt the regulators wrath.

Theinstallation of smart meters to all households in the UK by 2020 is well behind schedule with costs rising by as much as £2.5billion. During the summer the deadlinewas pushed back to 2024 and the installation target changed to 85%. Despitethis, energy experts believe that suppliers are unlikely to hit that targetuntil 2028 at the earliest.

“Despite asmall uplift in the number of smart meters in operation, the currentinstallation rate is still way off the mark if the 2024 target is to beachieved. If installations carry on at the current pace, we estimate that wewon’t see a smart meter in 85% of homes until at least 2028 – four years pastthe recently revised deadline. The roll-out of smart meters has been riddledwith problems from day one, including meters losing their smart functionalitywhen a user switches supplier. With 3.1 million smart meters known to beoperating in ‘dumb’ mode, the public could be forgiven for being cynical aboutthe benefits of these devices which, in theory, should provide more efficientand affordable energy,” said Peter Earl, head of energy at comparethemarket.com.

How to sell the benefits of smart meters to consumers

Smart and Advanced Meter uptake now at 15.6 million

Smart meter installations ramp up: One installed every three seconds!