Energy: Meters

(asked on 30th June 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of residents in England his Department has estimated will take up voluntary installation of smart meters; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing new policies to help incentivise the take-up of smart meters by all households.


Answered by
Anne-Marie Trevelyan Portrait
Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 5th July 2021

Smart meters are replacing traditional gas and electricity meters in Great Britain as part of an essential infrastructure upgrade to make the energy system more efficient and flexible, enabling the cost-effective delivery of net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The Government is committed to ensuring that households and small businesses can benefit from smart meters as soon as possible. Evidence shows that consumer attitudes to smart meters are not fixed and change over time and as such we do not hold an estimate of total consumer acceptance in England. Consumer demand remains strong with around 18,000 smart meters being installed on average each working day.

The Government recognises more may need to be done to engage consumers to reach the very highest levels of smart meter coverage by the end of the rollout. The Government will continue to consider further consumer-orientated policy measures to ensure households can realise the benefits of smart meters and drive completion of the rollout.

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