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The scheme to install new energy meters in every home in the UK should be halted because of spiralling costs, a consumer campaign group has warned. Which? said the government, rather than energy companies, should install the "smart meters" to keep costs down.
But Energy Minister Charles Hendry said the £11.1bn cost of introducing them to 30 million homes and firms from 2014 to 2019 would reap an £18.1bn benefit. The devices show exactly how much gas and electricity is used in real time. The project has been led by energy companies who have been installing the meters house-by-house as customers ask for them.
Which? claims it would be better if the government co-ordinated the installation process, whole streets at a time....Read more here--: BBC News - Which? warns of energy smart meter
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The government must ensure that energy companies pass multi-billion-pound savings made by installing "smart" meters on to customers, MPs have said. The £11.7bn scheme will provide 30 million UK homes with exact details of how much gas and electricity they use. But the public accounts committee said it was "far from certain" consumers would benefit and urged ministers to oversee the roll-out more closely. The government said it was already closely monitoring firms. Smart meters show exactly how much gas and electricity is being used, rather than customers receiving monthly estimated bills - which can lead to overpayments.....Read more here---: BBC News - Energy firms must pass on smart meter savings, say MPs
British Gas has admitted it will have to replace many of the 400,000 smart meters it has installed in UK homes – after new Government guidelines deemed they were not smart enough.
The energy supplier, owned by Centrica, will now have to pay to replace the older meters but declined to reveal how many would need to be changed or at what cost. British Gas opted to begin the smart meter roll-out two years ago, earlier than most other energy suppliers, so it could be "ahead of the game", a spokesman said. It had installed the meters, which transmit automatic readings of energy usage back to the supplier, in some customers' homes if their old meters were in need of replacing anyway. But guidelines issued on Thursday require a higher technical specification than the smart meters British Gas had initially installed.
The company had known there was a chance they would need to be replaced but felt it was better to offer customers smart meters "as soon as possible", the spokesman said. Smart meters now being installed meet the criteria, and the non-compliant older ones will only need to be replaced by December 2019....Read more here---: British Gas to replace meters because they're not smart enough - Telegraph
Fraud detection
The government is currently consulting over privacy safeguards on smart meters, due to be installed in 30 million UK homes by 2019. It says consumers should have the option of deciding whether they share detailed information about their use of gas and electricity. Consumers may be able to opt out of sharing their information on a daily basis, and opt in to sharing more frequently gathered data. But the EDPS proposed safeguards go further, recommending "freely given, specific, informed and explicit consent" of all use of their data that goes beyond the need for...Read more here: BBC News - Warning over smart meters privacy risk