The government has pushed back the deadline for smart energy meter rollout to 2024. The old deadline was the end of 2020 but energy firms warned the technology was not yet ready. Officials said the likes of British Gas, Eon and Scottish Power will now have until 2024 to install the meters.
It is not mandatory that homes have a smart meter fitted but energy firms have to offer them to all UK households. The number of people choosing to have a smart meter has risen over the past years.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “This new deadline gives suppliers time to fix ongoing technical problems and make sure customer service isn’t sidelined as the rollout continues.
“We’ve seen some energy companies use aggressive techniques to try to persuade people to have smart meters fitted as soon as possible to meet the existing timeline.
“It’s also apparent that the cost of the rollout is escalating, and the public are picking up the tab through their energy bills. People will still benefit in the long run, but today’s cost-benefit analysis shows focusing on speed hasn’t worked.”
There has been problems with smart meters over the past years such as the meters not working when a household has switched suppliers and the connectivity on many is not up to standard.
Lawrence Slade, chief executive of the sector’s trade association, Energy UK, said: “Suppliers have been working tirelessly to meet the 2020 deadline and offer all households a smart meter so that as many customers as possible can benefit by saving energy and money – as millions of smart meter owners have already reported.
“The energy sector is committed to working with the Government and other partners to complete the rollout so we will now consider the proposals in detail to ensure they are deliverable and do not place unreasonable costs on consumers.
