Smart meter rollout delayed until 2024
Video report by ITV News Consumer Editor Chris Choi
The roll-out of smart meters across the UK has been delayed by four years, after a string of technical problems.
The original plan was to fit them to around 53 million homes and businesses by 2020, but software faults have plagued the meters and pushed up the cost.
The Government had previously insisted the 2020 rollout was achievable, despite energy industry heads warning that the technology was not ready.
Ministers now predict that only half of households will have a smart meter by 2020, and that the cost of the rollout will rise from £11 billion in 2016 to £13.5 billion today.
However, they added total energy savings will also rise from £16.73 billion to £19.56 billion.
The number of smart meters in homes has risen steadily over the past few years, although the speed of growth has slowed more recently as problems start to show.
One of the biggest issues has been older generations of meters not working when a household has switched suppliers, with the data no longer being sent in real time to suppliers.
Consumer group Citizens Advice, which has been calling for the 2020 deadline to be extended, welcomed the decision and said it was in the best interests of customers.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “This new deadline gives suppliers time to fix ongoing technical problems and make sure customer service isn’t sidelined as the rollout continues.
“We’ve seen some energy companies use aggressive techniques to try to persuade people to have smart meters fitted as soon as possible to meet the existing timeline.
“It’s also apparent that the cost of the rollout is escalating, and the public are picking up the tab through their energy bills.
"People will still benefit in the long run, but today’s cost-benefit analysis shows focusing on speed hasn’t worked.”
Lawrence Slade, chief executive of the sector’s trade association, Energy UK, added: “Suppliers have been working tirelessly to meet the 2020 deadline and offer all households a smart meter so that as many customers as possible can benefit by saving energy and money – as millions of smart meter owners have already reported.
“The energy sector is committed to working with the Government and other partners to complete the rollout so we will now consider the proposals in detail to ensure they are deliverable and do not place unreasonable costs on consumers.”
The Government-backed DCC is supposed to be installing infrastructure to ensure the older meters work and that technology is in place so newer versions can connect to the shared networks.
A consultation by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the proposals closes on November 11.
But a recent study by auto-switching service Look After My Bills found that some meters were still “going dumb” and homes in the north of England were more likely to get inferior meters.
Lily Green, head of research a Look After My Bills, said: “At last the Government has faced up to the truth and admitted that the smart meter rollout is years behind.
“It’s been an open secret in the energy industry that the smart meter deadline will be pushed back.
“Suppliers are miles off from installing smart meters in all homes, with around 35 million homes still without a smart meter.”