Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will review the effects to date of the use of smart meters; and if she will estimate how much consumers reduce gas and electricity usage once a smart meter has been installed.

Our central estimate of energy savings to domestic consumers as a result of smart metering is 2.8% for electricity every year in comparison to what consumption would have been in that year without smart meters (prepayment and credit) and 2% for gas (credit) and 0.5% for gas (prepayment). The energy savings assumptions are conservative in comparison to international evidence.

In March 2015 DECC published research on the effects of the early rollout of smart meters – The Early Learning Project:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-metering-early-learning-project-and-small-scale-behaviour-trials.

The Early Learning Projects findings around levels of energy consumption reduction are that DECC’s steady-state projections for the main roll-out fall within the confidence intervals of the energy consumption reductions observed in the research for both gas and electricity. However evidence suggests that larger energy savings are achievable; it is realistic to expect durable energy savings of 3 per cent provided engagement is effective, and larger savings are feasible in the future.