British Gas: smart meters will save consumers £14 billion by 2030

Smart meters will bring Britain net savings of nearly £14 billion by 2030, according to a report commissioned by British Gas.

The analysis, carried out by Oxford Economics, concluded that while the cost of installing smart meters across the country will cost £11.4 billion, the benefits could stack up to £25.3 billion.

That figure is based on £11.2 billion of consumer energy savings, energy suppliers making £10.7 billion worth of efficiency savings and generators saving £3.2 billion due to lower demand.

Dean Keeling, managing director of British Gas Smart Homes, said: “The facts are plain; smart meters will help people save energy putting money in their back pocket. At British Gas we’re rolling out smart meters as quickly as possible to get the benefits to our customers. We’ve also committed to make sure that customers see the benefit of the savings to the industry, which could mean that customers could see even greater reductions in their bills.”

The results depend on consumers cutting energy use by 5 per cent. Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at Uswitch said the report was a welcome first step to explain the benefits of smart metering to consumers.

Given the reliance on behaviour change, however, she said: “This report has to herald the start of consumer engagement and education otherwise, instead of being a game-changer, smart metering will fall flat on its face.”