Smart meter flaws to add £1.8bn to energy bills

Big energy suppliers urge review of the £12bn nationwide roll-out of smart meters

Consumers could be saddled with an extra £1.8bn on their energy bills because of flaws in the Government’s plan to install “smart” gas and electricity meters in every home by 2020, suppliers have warned.

Three of the Big Six energy suppliers EDF Energy, ScottishPower and npower are now calling on ministers to review the £12bn nationwide roll-out of the meters, which automatically read gas and electricity usage and transmit the information back to suppliers.

Ministers claim consumers should eventually save money because they will be able to see their usage in real-time, encouraging them to use less energy. Meter reading and billing costs should also fall.

However, bills will rise over this decade to pay for the installation programme, while critics say the savings are uncertain. More than 1m homes already have the meters, but the nationwide roll-out is due to begin in earnest next autumn.

via Smart meter flaws to add £1.8bn to energy bills – Yahoo Finance UK.

4 Comments
  1. i was conned into getting a smart meter by Utilita energy. My bills are through the roof. only been with them 3 months have spent gas 352GBP in 3 months 2 weeks.
    electric 406GBP in 3 months 2 weeks.
    in 6 months i will have spent 1,218, I had 1.46 on my gas today i topped it up by 5 pounds and was left with 4.77GBP where did 1.69 go as i did not use any friendly credit. i have never used my emergency gas. i am fed up with the freedom meter not working since i had it installed ha a few replacement meters also in 3 months. wish i had never changed want these NOT SO SMART METERS OUT!

    • It is worth asking them to remove/replace the meter for an old-style analogue meter. They may oblige. You could also demand a replacement if you feel you weren’t given the full story about these meters before agreeing to have one.

      Good luck.

      • thanks for your input don’t even want to be with Utilita at all have lost confidence in them, maybe my bills will still be high if i stay with them ?

        • Might be worth a letter to Which? They’ve spoken against Smart Meters before and the more complaints they get from customers like yourself the greater the likelihood of these things getting stopped.

          I hope you can find a way to get the thing removed.