Millions of smart meter owners warned they need to take 'manual reading'

James Rodger

23 May 2024 at 1:51 am·2-min read

Almost a third of household smart meters not working properly, Citizens Advice has revealed. The charity says tech problems and poor customer service mean millions in Great Britain missing out on promised benefits amid the Cost of Living crisis.

The charity said millions of households were missing out on the promised benefits from smart meters due to “problems with technology” and poor supplier customer service. In March, data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero showed that, at the end of last year, 3.98m meters had “temporarily lost smart functionality”.

But Citizens Advice said its research suggested this was “just the tip of the iceberg”. A study between August and October 2023 involving 4,000 domestic energy consumers across the UK showed that 20 per cent of households with a smart meter were not working.

Smart meter owners still had to regularly submit manual meter readings because their device was not doing so automatically. And 31 per cent of those polled said they had experienced problems with their meter’s in-home display.

The charity has warned some households could even end up getting “huge unexpected bills” through the post - and Citizens Advice also said its data indicated millions of households were being “let down” by meter problems that suppliers were failing to fix in the UK.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson has spoken out in the wake of the findings, which were released today (Thursday May 23). “Energy suppliers are required to keep their customers’ meters working, and Ofgem is responsible for regulating them against this requirement,” they said.

The statement from the government went on, saying: “Any issues with smart meters and in-home display screens should be addressed promptly, and we will soon announce plans to drive better service for new and existing smart meter customers.”