A consumer group has expressed concerns over the slow pace of the national smart meter roll-out as the latest government figures show the rate of installation increased by just one per cent in the second quarter of the year. Nearly 1.25 million smart meters were installed by large energy suppliers between April and June this year – a marginal increase on the 1.24 million that were set-up between January and March, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). As of June, a total of 13.5 million smart and advanced gas and electricity meters have been installed in homes and businesses by both large and small energy suppliers. However, the government has pledged to install 53 million smart meters across 30 million households by 2020 in order to boost energy saving efforts and deliver more detailed energy data to suppliers. Advocates of the approach argue it will aid the development of smarter power grids and accelerate the rate of decarbonisation across the energy sector.
Business Green 31st Aug 2018 read more »