Government announces plans to increase the speed of Smart meter rollout

An extra six months

Targets

The government wants the smart meter rollout to save consumers money and help contribute to the reduction in carbon emissions as it seeks to hit its net-zero target by 2040. It hopes that the rollout could result in the slashing of carbon emissions by 45 million tonnes.

Before the pandemic, around 19,000 smart meters were being installed every day. With lockdown enforced that figure plunged putting more pressure on suppliers to hit the already tight deadline.

“Smart meters are playing an important role in helping the UK deliver a cleaner and more efficient energy system, with the added benefit of also saving tens of billions of pounds in the process. By allowing households to conveniently track their energy use, and prepayment customers to more easily top-up credit, we are working with industry to safely install even more across the country in a way that keeps consumers and suppliers safe”, Minister for Climate Change, Lord Callanan.

Under the new plans, a four-year policy framework with annual milestones will be introduced following the six-month extension.

The government warned that if energy suppliers failed to hit these targets (that will be agreed upon with the industry) and are unable to prove they used all options to hit it then energy suppliers with fines. The ambitious new targets are likely to be introduced in July 2021.



The challenges of the smart meter rollout

For energy suppliers, the smart meter rollout has been a persistent headache. To hit the government’s ambitious targets, they need to convince their customers of the benefits of having a smart meter installed. Something that is no easy feat.

Highlight the benefits

There are some legitimate concerns that consumers may have when it comes to smart meters and while those should not be dismissed an energy supplier should press home the fact that the benefits outweigh the negatives. The main benefits that should be highlighted include:

• Not having to do manual meter readings – A smart meter means that a consumer won’t have to manually read the meters, instead readings are sent to the supplier automatically. This reduces the chances of an inaccurate reading and higher energy bills.
• A smart meter enables a consumer to clearly see what appliances are the costliest to run and the best/worst times to use energy. This gives them greater control over their energy usage and in turn can reduce their energy bills.
• Energy suppliers often offer better tariffs for consumers using smart meters. A supplier should push any cheaper tariffs as a benefit to using a smart meter as cost often tops the reasons as to why consumers switch supplier.
• Whilst climate change is a major issue most consumers still regard cost as the key factor for their energy use, however, highlighting the environmental benefits of smart meters is no bad thing and you could convince someone of the benefits by using the climate angle.

Suppliers need to be aware that while various aspects of smart metering can provide big benefits for them, a customer most likely won’t care about that. They want to know what’s in it for them, so try to see the situation from their perspective. By doing that, then customers will be far more receptive.

Further reading

Smart Meter Roll out halted by Coronavirus

How to Sell the Benefits of Smart Meters to Consumers

Challenger Energy Suppliers should improve their mobile experiences says new report

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