Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what forecast he has made of (a) the number of smart meters installed and (b) the cost on the consumer bill of the installation of such meters in each quarter between Q3 2014 and Q3 2018.

The larger energy suppliers have provided yearly smart and advanced meter installation forecasts to DECC, which were published in the ‘Second Annual Report on the Roll-out of Smart Meters’ in December 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/second-annual-progress-report-on-the-roll-out-of-smart-meters

These figures will be updated in the next annual report based on the most recent projections by suppliers. It should be noted that these figures do not include any of the smaller suppliers’ estimates, nor take into account any growth in customer numbers.

DECC does not project bill impacts on a quarter by quarter basis and DECC’s latest prices and bills report from March 2013 contained projected bill impacts from smart metering for 2013, 2020 and 2030:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/172923/130326_-_Price_and_Bill_Impacts_Report_Final.pdf .

The smart meter Impact Assessment published in January 2014, estimates that even at their peak in 2015 the costs to the average consumer will be £6, or less than 0.5% of the average bill:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meter-roll-out-for-the-domestic-and-small-and-medium-non-domestic-sectors-gb-impact-assessment

Taking into account all costs and savings, by 2017 the average consumer will start saving money, leading to an annual net saving of £26 in 2020, increasing to £43 a year in 2030 in comparison to a situation without smart meters.