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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the reliability and accuracy of smart meter energy readings.

Smart meters installed in Great Britain must comply with the relevant legislation on measurement at the time of installation, which are the Measuring Instruments (Active Electrical Energy Meters) Regulations and the Measuring Instruments (Gas Meters) Regulations.

The Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPS&S) regularly monitors the accuracy of meter populations through the in-service testing (IST) scheme to ensure they continue to perform to an acceptable level. IST therefore forms an important part of consumer protection by ensuring only meters that operate within the prescribed limits of accuracy are used for consumer billing. Further information is available online: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/in-service-testing-for-gas-and-electricity-meters