Editor’s letter: Is the smart deadline putting safety at risk?

Our next government must acknowledge industry worry about the impact that a rushed rollout could have on safety, says Jane Gray

The general election has thrown many utilities industry programmes and initiatives off track – especially in the energy sector. But not smart metering.

Amid heated campaigning, mudslinging and posturing, this unprecedented infrastructure project has kept going, for better or – quite possibly – worse.

The installation of smart meters in homes and businesses across the UK has optimistic intent. It reflects ambitions across industry and successive governments to create a tech-savvy, 21st century nation with empowered consumers drawing on data-rich services.

The reality of the rollout reflects little of this, however. A litany of hold-ups and technical issues has made progress hard going so far. And with the 2020 deadline still stubbornly in place, the compressed timeline for the bulk of smart deployment is unlikely to help.

It’s no secret that the current targets for smart meter deployment are causing energy companies headaches – all the more so while SMETS 2 meters, the real smart McCoy, remain tantalisingly out of reach. But Utility Week understands that beyond anxiety about regulatory compliance and cost, more sinister misgivings are rumbling.

Last year at Utility Week’s Congress event, Wales & West Utilities’ Clive Book expressed concern about compromises to gas safety as suppliers and their contractors rush to meet demanding rollout requirements. With skilled installers hard to find and training programmes thrusting recruits into the field, mistakes could happen.

More recently, Utility Week has heard such concerns echoed in other corners of the industry. Worries range from the scope for major incidents, such as a gas explosion, to less dramatic but still serious worries, including an inability to track installers with sketchy track records. Anecdotes of near misses are being cautiously whispered.

Safety has, and always will be, a non-negotiable consideration for utility companies. But a refusal to relent on smart meter rollout targets or to loosen the interpretation of the 2020 deadline will not help firms deliver on this overriding responsibility.

A good outcome from the smart meter rollout could help the government make good on its social and economic promises, improve consumer value and offer energy industry players new avenues for innovation. A bad one, which brushes safety concerns aside, is unthinkable.