Science and Technology Committee says government must spell out smart meters’ role in creating a smarter, cleaner energy system Instead of touting their ability to cut consumer energy bills, government should be doing more to promote the role of smart meters in moving the UK towards a smarter, more flexible energy system.
Business Green 24th Sept 2016 read more »
The smart meters project risks being a wasted opportunity for households if they are just fitted and forgotten, a committee of MPs has said. The new real-time meters will only save consumers a small amount of money on their energy bills, the Science and Technology Committee said. The government must do more to convince people of the extra benefits that the system can bring, it said. These included a smarter energy grid and less pollution.
BBC 24th Sept 2016 read more »
More than 3.6m smart meters have already been installed in homes and businesses and 53m are due by 2020 Ministers need to do more to convince homeowners that the UK’s new £11bn smart meter system is safe from hackers, say MPs, who have been warned the devices could be used to sabotage power grids. Experts from the Royal Academy of Engineering and private technology companies have raised concerns about the meters’ security, according to a report from the Commons science and technology committee. Nick Hunn, a wireless technology consultant, said he was worried about the risk of “rogue programmers” in metering companies. British Gas told the Commons committee that people using 100,000 gas and electricity meters installed since 2014 had cut their energy consumption by around 3 per cent a year compared with customers with conventional meters. The former energy department has predicted that by 2020, households could make an annual saving on their dual fuel energy bill of £26, rising to £43 in 2030, while non-domestic customers could expect to save £200 a year in 2020.
FT 24th Sept 2016 read more »