Smart meter rollout must be extended says Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice, in its role as the official consumer watchdog for energy, has responded to the publication of the latest figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for smart meter installations.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:

“It’s worrying that at this key moment, when the switch to second generation smart meters should be accelerating, installation rates overall are actually slowing down.

“This is adding to the confusion for customers. Millions of people who have had a smart meter fitted may find it doesn’t work properly when they switch supplier, while millions more are not able to get a smart meter installed even if they want one.

“Customers on prepayment tariffs, in rural areas, and in large parts of the north of England and in Scotland, are in danger of being left behind.

“Smart meters will provide benefits for customers, but with the rollout beset by technical problems, the current timetable is unrealistic. There’s little chance that the 2020 deadline will be met, it should be extended to 2023.”

Background:

The government has set a deadline for smart meters to be installed in all domestic homes and small businesses by the end of 2020.  

In 2018, Citizens Advice called on the government to extend the rollout deadline to 2023, citing poor consumer experiences, a lack of transparency over costs and ongoing technical problems that have resulted in far fewer meters being installed than projected.

The government’s deadline for the installation of first generation smart meters (SMETS1) passed on March 15th. This means that from that date only second generation (SMETS2) will count towards suppliers’ roll out targets. 

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For more information contact: Rebecca Dalton

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Notes to editors

  1. Citizens Advice includes the national charity; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

  2. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and post. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers.

  3. The Citizens Advice Witness Service provides free, independent support for prosecution and defence witnesses in every criminal court in England and Wales.

  4. Citizens Advice offers Pension Wise services at 500 locations in England and Wales.

  5. Citizens Advice’s services are free, independent, confidential and impartial, and available to all regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.

  6. To get advice online or find your local Citizens Advice, visit citizensadvice.org.uk

  7. For consumer advice, call the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 to talk in Welsh.

  8. We helped 2.6 million people face to face, by phone, email and webchat in 2017-18. For service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

  9. Citizens Advice staff are supported by over 23,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 locations in England and Wales.