8 Conclusion
119. We support the Government's ambitious roll-out
programme and the important objectives it aims to achieve. At
present the emphasis is on the potential changes in consumer behaviour
arising from greater consumer awareness of their energy consumption.
But the strategic role of the project in facilitating safe, secure
and affordable energy supplies in future must be clarified, costed
and explained to consumers. Smart meters have the potential to
deliver efficiencies and reductions in consumer bills, but this
will only happen if consumers are genuinely engaged and if smart
meters provide accurate, real-time consumption and billing data.
In time, consumers are likely to want to access energy consumption
data in a variety of ways such as through smart phones or tablets.
In the meantime, provision of in-home displays will be crucial
to enhancing better understanding of energy usage and encouraging
behaviour change.
120. We welcome the decision to push back the timetable
for roll-out. There is now an opportunity for the Central Delivery
Body to address public concerns about health and privacy head
on, and ensure that consumer engagement is well under way before
mass roll-out begins. This may help to avoid the consumer backlash
that has been experienced in other parts of the world. Government
should also be clear about what it regards as a reasonable effort
by energy companies to ensure the widest possible take-up of smart
meters by consumers, and whether it expects customers who refuse
to have a smart meter to be charged for the ongoing cost of manual
meter-readings.
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