Rising costs of installing smart meters and implementing government energy efficiency schemes contributed to a drop in profits at Eon’s UK supply business over the first half of the year, the company has said. Earnings fell more steeply than revenues because of higher costs from “regulatory energy-efficiency obligations and the mandatory installation of smart meters at all customer premises”. The comments come amid fierce scrutiny of the impact of government policies on bills, after British Gas blamed increases in such costs when raising its electricity prices last week. Eon had already raised its standard dual-fuel tariff by 8.8 per cent earlier this year, also blaming such schemes. Ministers have disputed companies’ efforts to blame rising prices on their policies. This weekend the government commissioned an independent review into energy costs, led by Dieter Helm, the Oxford academic, who said it would “sort out the facts from the myths”. However, the £11 billion smart meter rollout, which the government has defended, has been deemed “out of scope” for Professor Helm .
Times 10th Aug 2017 read more »
