1 Introduction
1. DECC has outlined its vision "for every home
in Great Britain to have smart electricity and gas meters and
for smaller business and public sector premises to have smart
or advanced metering suited to their needs."[1]
It says that "smart meters will play an important role in
Britain's transition to a low-carbon economy and help us deliver
an affordable, secure and sustainable energy supply."[2]
Roll-out will involve visiting approximately 28 million homes
and 2 million businesses to install 53 million smart meters, with
mass roll-out planned to take place between 2015 and 2020.[3]
2. During roll-out, existing meters will be replaced
by smart gas and electricity meters that enable two-way communication.
Smart meters will transmit up-to-date readings of the amount of
gas or electricity that has been used in each property and will
receive information such as current tariff rates from suppliers.
Consumers will be able to access information about their energy
usage and costs in the home via a device called an in-home display
(IHD). Suppliers are responsible for installing smart meters and
will pass the costs of roll-out on to consumers through their
bills.
3. In this inquiry we have looked specifically at
the potential costs and benefits of roll-out and at how preparations
for roll-out are progressing in key areas. Given that consumers
will be paying for roll-out in their energy bills, and given the
strong focus on consumer benefit in DECC's business case for roll-out,
we have emphasised consumer aspects of roll-out. We highlight
areas of concern regarding progress on preparations for roll-out.
4. We received more than 130 submissions of written
evidence and heard oral evidence from a wide range of experts
and organisations, as well as from DECC and Ofgem. We also received
a valuable insight into the successes and challenges of roll-out
in another jurisdiction from the experience of California. A full
list of written and oral evidence can be found at the end of the
report, and summary notes from our California meetings can be
found in Annex 1. We are grateful for all the evidence we received.
1 Ev 93 Back
2
Ev 93 Back
3
Smart meters: a guide, DECC website, 19 July 2013, https://www.gov.uk/smart-meters Back
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