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 on small energy providers of the cost of the roll-out of smart meters.

The smart meter programme has been carefully designed to limit the impact on small suppliers, where appropriate. There are a number of derogations for small suppliers, for example they submit data to Government less regularly, reflecting the burden that data requests can have for small businesses. In addition, there are differences for small suppliers which help facilitate their success and minimise costs – such as not having to pay for Smart Energy GB’s capital costs. Moreover, costs are based on market share rather than a flat rate.

In time, smart metering will deliver cost savings for small suppliers, through reductions in meter readers and back office activity. This will lower the barriers for new independent energy suppliers to enter the market.