Mandating non-domestic smart meters ‘makes sense’

Mandating businesses to have smart meters installed would “make sense” considering recent changes to the rollout, an industry expert has said.

Matthew Roderick, founder and chief executive of digital services company n3rgy, was speaking in response to an article on the forthcoming Energy White Paper in which Utility Week revealed that suppliers are expected to be given more scope to push the installation of smart meters, particularly in non-domestic settings.

Roderick, who previously spent five years at the Data Communications Company (DCC) as its chief technology/ innovation officer, believes a shift in the narrative about smart meters, in that they are key to tackling climate change, as well as pushing the rollout back to 2024, would pave the way for mandatory installations.

He said: “Look at what has happened in terms of the rollout of smart meters and the way it is promoted through Smart Energy GB. It all started with more accurate bills and now the message is moving towards climate change and carbon reduction by encouraging time of use tariffs to match consumption with renewable generation. That’s the way the market is going and that’s a way the government can further the decarbonisation agenda.

“There was originally an option within the smart meter scheme, which has since been removed, that allowed non-domestic suppliers to choose to use their own automatic meter reading (AMR) systems instead of the DCC/SMETS specification. With a combination of that decision and the shift to say smart meters are essential to decarbonisation, as well as the slowness of the rollout and the deadline shift to 2024, it would make sense to now mandate them for businesses.”

According to the latest figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) at the end of March 2020 an estimated 1.3 million smart and advanced meters had been installed in smaller non-domestic sites in Great Britain.

Smart meter installation rates saw a dramatic recovery in July following the Covid-induced slowdown, according to figures from ElectraLink.

Lockdown measures resulted in a sharp decrease in smart meter installations in March and April but according to the company’s data July’s figures were close to 152,000 which is 120 percent more than the previous month.

Roderick added that he believes the events of the past few months will result in a positive response to a mandatory installation requirement.

“Doing this two years ago I think there would have been a backlash. But given the challenges around the environment and the challenges we are going through with Covid-19, I think there would be a broadly positive response.”

However Juliet Davenport, founder and chief executive of Good Energy, believes other options may be better than mandating installations.

“To create a flexible, clean energy system we need the support of non-domestic, higher energy users. But there are probably better interventions than mandating smart meters. It is key we move to a half hourly settled market, with the right metering for the right customers and encourage them to be part of the wider flexibility markets”, she said.