Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of smart meter connectivity in apartment blocks with solid concrete floors.

Energy suppliers have a range of technologies to extend smart metering Home Area Network (HAN) connectivity where there are obstacles such as solid concrete floors between the apartment and the meter.

Suppliers are already rolling out 'dual band' communications hubs which can operate on two different frequencies and therefore serve many previously hard to reach properties.

For the minority of properties that cannot be served by the 'dual band' communications hub, deployment of an ‘Alternative Home Area Network’ (ALT HAN) solution began earlier this year, which provides smart meter connectivity for additional properties, such as the higher floors of high-rise buildings.