Despite over half of British homes now having a smart meter, new research from Citizens Advice suggests millions of households are being let down by meter problems suppliers are failing to fix.
They are particularly worried that people could end up with huge unexpected bills if their supplier isn’t able to take an automatic reading for an extended period of time and say that new rules are needed to ensure energy suppliers identify and fix problems as quickly as possible.
Research found that 20% of households with a smart meter, 2.86 million households, still had to regularly submit manual meter readings because their device isn’t doing that automatically and that nearly a third experienced issues with their in-home display (IHD) -the screen that helps people track their energy usage and costs
Meter problems have led to some racking up debt due to readings not being sent automatically. In some cases, shock £1,000+ catch-up bills were sent to customers after meters went unchecked by suppliers for over a year.
Current rules allow suppliers to back bill customers for a whole year, whether they have a smart meter or not. Citizens Advice says this period must now be cut to 6 months for smart meters to avoid year-long catch up bills caused if meters fail to send readings.
Government figures show by the end of last year over 10% of smart meters weren’t working properly. Citizens Advice says this is just the tip of the iceberg – its new research suggests even more households are actually struggling with a whole range of meter issues, such as having to give regular manual readings or issues with their in-home display.
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“The whole point of smart meters is to empower households to save energy and money, but in reality millions are missing out on those benefits due to problems with technology and poor supplier service.
“Energy companies are very keen for customers to get a smart meter but when issues arise they are often nowhere to be found. That has to change.
“Suppliers have been far too sluggish in fixing issues with problem meters. New obligations and stronger accountability measures are needed to restore public trust in this vital tool to reach net zero.”
