Supplier smart meter plans are on track, says Ofgem

Ofgem has described initial plans by energy suppliers for the number of meter installations they intend to do each year for the 2020 programme deadline to be hit as “more reassuring than ever”.

Ofgem’s head of smart metering Laura Nell told delegates at a seminar on Tuesday that the regulator has been working closely with suppliers over the last year to ensure the plans are ambitious but achievable.

Energy supply companies will need to collectively install 900,000 smart meters every month during the mass rollout to meet what is deemed by industry as the tight 2020 deadline.

The start date for the smart meter rollout has been pushed back several times but the 2020 end date has remained, squeezing the time suppliers have to make installations.

Nell said the smart meter programme is an example of the regulator’s recent move to principle-based regulation.

The regulatory framework will have some “flexibility” to allow suppliers to decide which customers to target, but the plans will become binding once they are submitted to Ofgem next year.

Nell said: “We will certainly share examples of best practise when we see them and we will raise concerns when we have them, but we really want to see suppliers strive to capture the greatest benefit for consumers and take responsibility for thinking through what is best for their customers.

“We do not think that is going to be achieved with a detailed list of rules telling suppliers how many times they should contact a customer, and that’s why we are not intending to publish guidance on this topic anytime soon.”

Nell said the targets would be reviewed each year, but that a constant line of communication between Ofgem and suppliers during the rollout was important to understand how assumptions and constraints might change during the rollout period.