Smart meters too costly for consumers, says Which?

The costs incurred by consumers for the roll out of smart meters need to be re-evaluated before they “spiral out of control”, Which? has said to the government today.

Addressing Energy Minister Ed Davey, ahead of his Liberal Democrat Party Conference the consumer body has proposed three measures to reduce the £10.9bn cost consumers will have to bear for the programme.

At the end of 2015, the government will attempt to ensure a smart meter is installed in every UK home by 2020.

As part of its ‘Fix the Big Six’ campaign that seeks to put the needs of customers first, Which? has proposed that the government buys meters centrally to drive down costs.

“One of the biggest smart meter programme costs is the meters themselves, but currently each supplier has its own purchasing plan,” it points out.

It has also demanded a coordinated approach to multi-occupancy buildings such as flats or high-rise buildings to reduce “disruption and cost” and lastly, it wants the government to publish guidance on “reasonable steps” that suppliers must take to install smart meters by 2020, avoiding disproportionate cost and improving the efficiency and costing of rollout plans.

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: “The energy market is undergoing a full scale investigation, so the government cannot expect competition alone will keep costs low. At a time when energy bills continue to squeeze household budgets, the government must urgently explore ways to ensure consumers get value for money from the smart meter roll-out,” he added.

Commenting on Which?’s letter to Ed Davey, uSwitch.com’s director of consumer policy Ann Robinson, said that she agrees that the roll out costs of the smart meter programme should be kept under close control to “limit the impact on consumers”.

But she said, “The move to smart meters will also mean that people’s bills will be accurate, up-to-date and based on actual usage. Once installed, they will give a significant reduction in costs for energy companies – for example, meter reading teams will no longer be needed – and the industry has promised to pass on these savings to consumers.”

In a seperate statement Energy UK said that smart meters are already saving people money and that a million smart meters have been “installed so far and early results show that people are already making savings”.