Smart Meters Only Save UK Households £11 A Year

MPs have warned that homes fitted with smart meters are only expected to save consumers £11 a year on their energy bills, considerably less than originally anticipated.

Releasing a report into smart meters, a group of cross-party MPs in the British Infrastructure Group of Parliamentarians said the government was likely to miss its own deadline on rolling out the technology to homes.

Conservative MP Grant Shapps, the chairman of the British Infrastructure Group (BIG), said the programme had been “plagued by repeated delays and cost increases, with suppliers now almost certain to miss the 2020 deadline, and programme benefits likely to be slashed even further”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Shapps said one of the reasons for the “mess” was that “first generation” smart meters, which do not always work when a customer switches supplier, will continue to be rolled out until next year.

Smart Energy GB, which is promoting the roll out of the smart meters, said: “All smart meters mean an end to estimated billing and give people a greater understanding of their energy use.

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