Smart Meter Installation Rates Fell 12% in 2019 Says BEIS Report

A stat that is sure to annoy many, is that nearly 1.5 million SMET1 meters were installed in domestic properties last year.

These meters had to be replaced after many created issues for customers who had swapped their energy suppliers. Thousands of them ‘went dumb’ and lost all their functionality after a customer switch.

Energy suppliers still installing such meters are likely to get a slap on the wrist from Ofgem as their installation does not count towards energy suppliers official target figures. Suppliers that don't hit their target installation figures can be fined by the energy watchdog.

Ofgem also warned that suppliers who continue to install SMET1’s after March 15th need to provide justification as to why a SMET2 was not suitable and how the installation of SMET1 served the customer’s best interests. 

According to the BEIS, the number of smart meters installed by energy suppliers saw an increase of 4.5% in Q4 2019 vs. Q4 2018, with 1.2 million meters installed. It was also the twelfth consecutive quarter with over a million meters installed.

Despite the positive quarterly figures, year-on-year the number of smart meters being installed fell in 2019, a statistic that is sure to raise concerns that the targets set by Ofgem and the government will be very hard to achieve. Already the smart meter rollout target has been extended from 2020 to 2024.

The scheme is already £2.5 billion over its initial £11 billion budget. Last year government ministers were warned by the industry that the target of installing smart meters into 85% of domestic properties by 2024 has no prospect of being achieved.

“4.5 million smart meter installations in 2019 may sound impressive, but in reality, it’s lower than the 5.1 million installed the year before. Remarkably, nearly 1.5 million lower-tech first-generation smart meters were installed in domestic homes last year despite the vast majority of these meters not remaining in ‘smart mode’ if you change energy supplier, a problem fixed by the second generation SMETS2 meters which are already widely available,” said Peter Earl, head of energy at Compare the Market.

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