While the mandated mass roll out of smart meters has been agreed to start in spring 2014, the full specification of those meters has yet to be finalised. It is expected that the specifications will be fully approved by early 2012. The communications technology will be decided by Government and a decision on that is expected by the end of 2012. We know suppliers will have to provide a display device for the meters and expect some type of wireless technology to be involved.
We all pay for our meters and other energy infrastructure (like pylons and gas pipes) through our energy bills, so that won’t change. In general terms the technology in smart meters is more costly than old, ‘dumb’ meters, however, there will be significant new benefits to having smart meters. The government reckon that the average customer will save about £23 a year due to being better able to manage their consumption and there’ll be an end to estimated billing too.
Suppliers will have access to accurate data for billing, allowing them to improve their customer service and reduce costs, for example by reducing call centre traffic and ending visits by meter readers.
Finally, energy networks will have better information with which to manage and plan energy production as well as the move towards smart grids to support sustainable energy supplies.
Smart meters and the communication network built to service them should make changing tariffs much easier. Although it’s early days, we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to supply more tailored tariffs that can help you use your energy in the best way and save you money in the process.
The exact frequency of readings is yet to be decided, but suffice to say smart meters will make billing much more accurate and supply customers with real time consumption data.
