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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with Ofgem on the data requirements set out in the privacy notice for the Energy Price Guarantee scheme; and whether his Department made an assessment of the potential impact of those data requirements on consumer trust in smart meters.

The Government works closely with Ofgem to ensure a high standard of consumer protection is maintained across the retail energy sector, including for smart metering and the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG).

The scope of data required to support the EPG is still being determined. The Government will continue to work with energy suppliers to ensure that consumers’ privacy is safeguarded, while enabling proportionate access to data to enable evaluation and fraud prevention, as is in the public interest. No personal data has yet been collected in relation to the scheme.

The Department works closely with Ofgem to monitor consumer experience of smart meters and to ensure compliance with the Data Access and Privacy Framework.