Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of smart meters on (a) domestic household energy bills and (b) the level of domestic energy switching in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England.

Smart meters provide households accurate, near real-time information about energy consumption in pounds and pence via an In-Home Display, so consumers can easily understand how to use less and save money on their bills.

Consumers with smart meters are making energy and bill savings. Smart Energy GB has found that almost 7 in 10 customers with smart meters are more conscious of their energy use, while British Gas has reported that its dual-fuel customers with smart meters are making sustained annual energy savings of more than 3%. A dual-fuel household that has smart meters installed in 2020 is expected to realise average bill savings of £290 over the remainder of the rollout.

Research from Ofgem shows that households with smart meters are no less likely to switch energy supplier to receive a better deal than those with traditional meters.

The Department holds data on the impact of smart meters on household energy bills and switching for Great Britain; we do not collect it at a local level or for England.