UK unveils plans to 'transform' the consumer smart meter experience
- Reference: 1754724970
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/09/smart_meter_policy/
- Source link:
"Millions of consumers rely on their smart meter every day for accurate billing, cheaper tariffs, automatic meter readings and real-time data to help keep track of spending," Charlotte Friel, director of retail pricing and systems at energy watchdog Ofgem, claimed in pre-prepared statement.
"But we know many customers that want a smart meter wait too long to get one installed or face delays on repairs when it stops working - this needs to change.
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"We're working closely with suppliers to drive improvement, and have seen more than 600,000 faulty smart meters reconnected since last July after we opened compliance engagement. This is only the beginning - with automatic compensation, faster fixes, and improved installation standards well on the way, getting a smart meter will be quicker and easier than ever."
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Asked what percentage of known-faulty or disconnected smart meters that 600,000 figure represents, Ofgem pointed The Register to a report from March which declared that around four million installed smart meters were not operating in smart mode.
To say the smart meter rollout has been troubled would not be an overstatement: the project has been [4]continuously delayed and is [5]dramatically over-budget with [6]growing costs , while the meters themselves have run into a number of technical issues ranging from [7]fictitious readings to [8]surprise language shifts and [9]over-reliance on older mobile networks which are in the process of being shut down - leaving some models of smart meter, estimated to total around seven million in the UK alone, with no connectivity.
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Back in 2018 the National Audit Office poured scorn on the then-government's claims of the potential for huge savings on consumers' energy bills, suggesting that the rollout would only deliver a benefit of [11]around £18 per household . Despite this, there's no sign that the new government plans to walk back the project - instead doubling-down with claims that the devices could help deliver environmental, rather than direct monetary, savings through integration with low-carbon technologies.
In an effort to turn things around, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has published a [12]guidance document which walks through ten key "service expectations" - including installation with "minimal disruption," that faulty devices should be "promptly" investigated, that readings should be transmitted automatically and result in "accurate bills," and that suppliers should only remotely switch meters into prepayment-only mode "if it is safe and works for you to use this payment method."
[13]UK energy watchdog slaps down Capita's £130M smart meter splurge
[14]4G to dominate cellular IoT until 2028, when 5G takes over
[15]Datacenters have a public image problem, industry confesses to The Reg
[16]Smart meters: 'Dog's breakfast' that'll only save you 'a tenner' – report
At the same time, the department also launched a [17]"call for evidence" into the Clean Power 2030 project and how smart meters can be integrated with low carbon technologies "to drive efficiencies and enhance the consumer experience." A key part of that call: the issue of "installer field capacity constraints in certain locations [which] cause delays for some consumers trying to arrange installation appointments."
Finally, an [18]open consultation has been launched into proposed "strict new obligations," which the government plans to put into place following the end of its - as-yet unmet - installation targets at the close of the year. This would include "Guaranteed Standards of Performance," initially proposed by Ofgem in May, which would offer compensation – a £40 payment – to anyone waiting longer than six weeks for a smart meter installation or whose installation was cancelled due to a lack of "necessary skills or resources," as well as for anyone whose smart meter is "operating in traditional mode for a significant length of time" due to a lack of connectivity or other fault."
Meanwhile, those living near new pylons across Great Britain are set to receive up to £2,500 off their bills over 10 years, as the government kicks off the Planning and Infrastructure Bill proposals. It [19]said : "The plans could see eligible households save up to £250 off their electricity bill a year, receiving a £125 discount every 6 months."
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Suppliers will be aided in this latter with the promise of expanded support for smart meter connectivity over a 4G mobile network, to replace existing 2G and 3G networks in the process of being shuttered, and the ability for smart meters to make use of a customer's own broadband connection rather than requiring a dedicated uplink of its own.
"These technical improvements, along with the government's new guide to smart metering, will provide reassurance to households and allow an even greater number to enjoy the benefits that smart meters bring," claimed Dan Brooke, chief executive of smart meter supplier Smart Energy GB, in support of the government's announcement, "including more control over energy use and access to flexible tariffs that can help save money."
The consultation on the government's smart metering policy framework runs through to the 3rd of October 2025; those looking to have their say can find out how [21]on GOV.UK . ®
Get our [22]Tech Resources
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[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/15/smart_meter_rollout_delayed/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/31/gov_confident_delayed_and_over_budget_smart_meters_will_happen/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/24/capita_wins_135_million_extension_smart_meters/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2017/03/06/smart_meters_prove_dim/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2019/07/16/smart_meters_switch_to_welsh/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/19/uk_smart_meters_pac/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJccO9yrcYQB0dTHxTdqXwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/23/smart_meters_are_dog_toffee_says_nao/
[12] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meters-your-rights-and-expectations/smart-meters-your-rights-and-expectations
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/15/ofgem_smart_meter_capita/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/11/future_iot_connectivity/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/05/datacenters_have_a_public_image/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2017/09/04/smart_meters_more_expensive_fewer_savings/
[17] https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/enhancing-the-smart-meter-installation-journey-towards-clean-power-2030
[18] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/smart-metering-policy-framework-post-2025
[19] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/energy-bills-cut-for-communities-helping-electrify-britain
[20] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aJccO9yrcYQB0dTHxTdqXwAAAIc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[21] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/smart-metering-policy-framework-post-2025
[22] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
£2,500 off their bills over 10 years???
Fucking nimby-pandering fucking nonsense,
Does that mean I can have £2500 for planes flying over, traffic noise, thieves and drug dealers in the streets, bloody tourists, roads closed because of yet another event/demo/royal jamboree/political stunt? They all hit my home value and quality of life.
This country needs shaking up, these whingers' resistance to vital change keeps it stuck in the past, with years/decades of delay and drives costs through the roof.
My heart bleeds for their house value falling because they'll see some pylons, tough, I bet most of them voted for brexit too, fuck 'em.
We're a small island with outdated, crumbling infrastructure, and massive wealth imbalance.
Time to cut the whining and get on with things.
CHEAP
the problem is that they do things on the cheap...
ok so someone complains about Electricity pylons, also known as transmission towers people get the wrong end of the stick we have those because its cheap not because its best...
best is to dig a trench and put electricity cables and fibre optic in it
that way tree's dont need to be tended or snow falls get in the way... but no cheap option rather than thinking about 50 years down the track
equally smart meters are good BUT they went with the cheap option now 2g is being retired. they are only now thinking gee wouldnt it be nice to have multiple backhual options... ANYONE in radio or networking would tell you have multiple backhual options built into it from the start...
cheap / fast / good
pick 2
Shell energy were utterly useless
I opted to have a smart meter fitted as I'm somewhat infirm and struggled climbing into a cupboard in the kitchen to read the old meters. After the "smart meter" was fitted, it only worked for gas usage not electricity. I literally reported the fault ten times to Shell energy over twelve months and they were unable to fix the problem. So I still had to climb into the cupboard every month for the electricity meter reading. Eventually Shell sold out to Octopus energy. I reported the fault to them... a few days later they'd fixed the problem, they just needed to update something at their end.
If they are frequently not working, delayed and overbudgeted.... then why is the government SO insistent on shoving them down our throats?
Technology has literally passed them by with the shutdown of the various networks these things sometimes use, the mesh networks have been proven to be non secure ( recessim demonstrated the US version is wank amdbauvingseen som of the UK stuff, I don't doubt it's just as bad)
The sheer scale and nature of the UK network means it will never reliably work or be up to date and suppliers who don't give two shits about customers will never bother updating, instead pushing the burden of proof for failures, over billing etc onto their customers.
As usual, it's a bullshit implementation by a bunch of greedy private companies who've lobbied government with their wallets
Integration with low-carbon technologies
Pray tell what is this integration of which you speak? As I understand all the "smart" meter does is provide 30 minute historical usage.
If the meter could communicate with large appliances in the home to coordinate their use with the availability of low-carbon generation then that might actually contribute to net-nothing goals. But I don't believe that functionality actually exists. Maybe we'll get it sometime in the future after they've ripped out and replaced a few more generations of meters...
Hence why we have companies like Octopus rolling their own predictive demand management for EV charging via their own back channels. This is bad for various reasons, lock in to a particular subset of EVSE vendors, lock in to a particular energy provider being just two. But then the ex-commodity traders who run the providers must love the idea of getting their hooks into consumers so that they can sell kit that works specifically with their tariffs at vastly inflated prices.
Just another vanity moneypit
Yet another political slimepit, whose sole achievement is to suck up the money hose.
Add it to all the other failed ICT and other infrastructure projects which successive governments dream up to feed their propaganda machines.
Financial benefit to the user? Fuck all if any.
Convenience to the user? Horrendous inconvenience lottery at many levels. Peripheral convenience for those few where it can and does actually work.
Security by design? All too possible to infiltrate a DoS bricking attack and national blackout.
Privacy? Who's slurping your enhanced data without your permission, yet again?
Solution? Enforce more of the same, faster. Legislate harder for Big Brother's backdoor.
TIP: When you can no longer hide and it is your enforced turn, you can INSIST THAT SMART MODE IS DISABLED. I don't know how easy it is to remotely enable SM against the user's wishes (have a thought for poor Big Brother!), maybe depends on the model and how resilient to "accidental" hammers its comms are.
P.S. Dear Vulture Webmaster. Any chance you can clean up the ul and/or li CSS to shrink that white space a bit? Maybe even debug the change in bullet style when the auto-line-spacing gets added?
The whole circus around Smart Meters is a close match for the Tesla hype.
They suggest all manner of amazing things will be possible once you have one fitted including a level of granularity on seeing how your power is used which will never be possible. In reality while it will show you what you have used in the various units and some history to see how it compares it is attempting to replace common sense. If you turn on more things you use more energy....WOW
As we are seeing with these backend problems they offer minimal gains to the consumer compared to the much larger probability of failures from the technology chosen.
"compliance engagement"
Oh look. A new wankword to add to my wankword bingo card