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The number of smart electricity meters installed in January was at its highest for that month in four years, the latest figures from Electralink reveal.
A total of 221,000 devices were installed last month, up 30% on December 2023 and a 21% year-on-year increase.
Electralink said its latest figures marked the highest number of January installations since January 2020, before the Covid pandemic first affected the programme.
Following the outbreak of the pandemic, lockdown measures meant engineers were only allowed in a consumer’s home in emergency cases, such as if they were off supply. This meant that unless the installation of a smart meter was to ensure a household stayed on supply, the rollout had to be paused.
By April 2020, installations had dropped to just 12,000 due to government-imposed social distancing restrictions.
Commenting on its latest figures, Electralink said: “The pace and efficiency of the smart meter rollout continues to raise discussions in the energy sector and beyond. A recent report compiled by PA Consulting, commissioned by Smart Meter Assets and with data from ElectraLink, revealed that 94% of smart meters removed from service are non-faulty.
“This costs billpayers an estimated £70 million a year and uses installation resources that could otherwise replace traditional meters instead of functioning smart meters.”
The usual regions with the most monthly installations showed good results in January. East England had 27,000 installations, followed by Southern England with 25,000 and the East Midlands with 21,000.
Previously released figures from Electralink show that more than 2.4 million smart electricity meter installations were recorded in 2023, a fraction higher than the 2.37 million installs in 2022 and marginally lower than 2021 which saw 2.41 million installs.
According to the latest government figures, at the end of September last year there were 33.9 million smart and advanced meters in Great Britain in homes and small businesses (59% of all meters).
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