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Deadline to fix 'dumb' energy meters put back until end of 2021

Handheld smart meter - Yui Mok/PA Wire
Handheld smart meter - Yui Mok/PA Wire

The deadline to fix millions of first-generation smart meters at risk of going "dumb" was quietly extended by a year, The Telegraph can disclose.

More than 20 million smart meters have been installed in homes as part of the Government's plan to modernise the energy grid and reduce power usage.

However, an estimated 14 million are first-generation devices which often lose their smart functions when a customer switches supplier, meaning they do not display usage in real time or send readings automatically.

The latest delay means that customers with meters which were supposed to be fixed or replaced by the end of the year could have to wait until the end of 2021 for an upgrade.

A programme to connect the devices to a national network began in August last year and was supposed to conclude by this December. But this newspaper has learnt that in March the Government shifted this crucial deadline.

A spokesman said that the four million meters currently operating in "dumb" mode are being prioritised to be fixed by the end of the year. Currently just over one million have been connected to the network but this still leaves millions more which are at risk if a customer changes energy supplier.

Peter Earl, an energy expert at switching website comparethemarket.com, said: "Any further delays to the enrolment of those early generation meters to allow inter-operability between suppliers is obviously a bit of a debacle.

"You have a whole tranche of customers that were expecting their smart functionality to return in a position where they will have to go through another winter not being able to switch with confidence."

He also questioned whether the Government's target of enrolling the four million dumb meters by January was achievable given the progress so far.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: "The replacement of traditional gas and electricity meters with smart meters is a vital infrastructure upgrade that will make our energy system cheaper, cleaner and more efficient, helping to reduce our contribution to climate change."

The department said that the end of 2021 date was just a backstop and not a delivery target or ambition.

The meters being installed on Monday are second generation, which are automatically inter-operable between suppliers. Supporters of the £13.5 billion meter roll-out argue that it will enable better management of demand for power and allow consumers to save money.

Robert Cheesewright, of Smart Energy GB, which was set up to promote the roll-out, said: "We share the frustration felt by consumers who have first-generation smart meters operating in traditional mode."

The Data Communications Company, which operates the national network, said it was for the Government to comment on the changed regulatory backstop.