Update on the rollout of smart meters

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 17 May 2023 Closed: 14 Feb 2024 Parliament page
Energy suppliers are legally obliged to meet bespoke annual individual minimum smart meter installation targets for domestic and small business customers in Great Britain in the period from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2025. At the end of December 2022, 55% of all meters were smart, meaning they can … Read more
5 Recommendations
20 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 6 events
14 Feb
2024
Report published
20 Oct
2023
Report published
11 Jul
2023
Correspondence
10 Jul
2023
Correspondence
22 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
22 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
22 Jun 2023
View on parliament.uk
Update on the rollout of smart meters
Anne Pardoe · Citizens Advice Clive Maxwell · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Daisy Cross · Energy UK Daron Walker · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Marcus Shepheard · Climate Change Committee Neil Kenward · Ofgem
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Seventy-Second Report - Update on the rollout of smart meters HC 1332 20 Oct 2023 25 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
20 Conclusion Accepted in Part
Seventy-Second Report - Update on …
Energy suppliers lack obligation to replace faulty in-home smart meter displays after one year.
Consumers are only guaranteed to receive the benefits available from being able to monitor their energy usage via an in-home display for a year. After one year, if the device breaks the energy supplier currently has no obligation to replace … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's observation, stating it is developing and seeking agreement on voluntary good practice principles for In-Home Display provision beyond the initial 12-month period and has not ruled out further regulation, partially addressing the lack of obligation to replace them.
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion Accepted in Part
Seventy-Second Report - Update on …
Smart Meter Programme lacks up-to-date cost-benefit analysis despite being active for over a decade.
The government first announced its intention to mandate suppliers to install smart meters in 2008, and energy suppliers have been rolling out smart meters since 2012.70 The Programme has therefore been active for more than a decade, and although the … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to share annual cost and benefit information with Parliament by Summer 2024 to provide visibility on the smart metering rollout. However, it does not explicitly commit to producing a full new cost-benefit analysis since the last one in 2019, instead referencing the 2019 analysis as comprehensive.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Accepted in Part
Seventy-Second Report - Update on …
Department unable to provide current smart meter programme costs and benefits to Parliament.
At our evidence session, the Department could not provide an up-to-date figure for the Programme’s costs and benefits. It considers that both costs and benefits will have increased since 2019, given: a) lower installer efficiency and delays during COVID-19 increasing … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the committee's finding that up-to-date cost and benefit figures are not available, and, treating this as a recommendation, commits to sharing this information with Parliament on an annual basis by Summer 2024. However, detailed plans for bringing the programme to a close will only be shared when they have matured.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 25 of 5 classified
Accepted 17
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 3
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 1
Total 5 recs + 20 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
11 Jul 2023 Correspondence from Daisy Cross, Head of Future, Retail Markets, Energy UK, re Follow-up from PAC Committee session on ‘The rollout of smart meters’, dated 6 July 2023
Parliament page
10 Jul 2023 Correspondence from Dan Brooke, CEO, Smart Energy GB, re Update on the rollout of smart meters, dated 30 June 2023
Parliament page