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 of increased volumes of SMETS1 smart meters being installed on customers' ability to switch energy supplier.

The roll-out of SMETS1 meters is enabling consumers to take control of their energy use, save money and receive accurate bills, as energy suppliers trial, test and optimise their approaches prior to the main phase of the roll-out.

Households and small businesses with SMETS1 meters can still switch energy suppliers. If the new supplier can’t operate the meter in smart mode, the meter will continue accurately to record energy consumption and can be used in ‘traditional’ mode, with meter readings taken manually.

Work is underway to make existing SMETS1 meters interoperable with the DCC. Once this work is complete, customers will be able to retain their smart service when they switch energy supplier.

Ofgem has introduced rules designed to help domestic consumers understand if the smart services they are receiving will be maintained when they switch supplier[1].

[1] (https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/41868/smart-meters-effective-switching.pdf.)