Smart electricity and gas meters

The roll-out of smart meters will be a major national project. It will involve a visit to every home in Great Britain and the replacement of around 50 million gas and electricity meters.

Smart meters can pave the way for a transformation in the way energy is supplied and used. They will provide consumers with real-time information about energy use enabling them to monitor and manage their use. Consumers will receive accurate bills. Switching between suppliers will be smoother and faster and improvements in the delivery of energy efficiency advice will be supported.

Energy suppliers will be able to offer a wider range of services and tariffs to manage their customer relationships better. Smart meters will also be an important step towards the development of a smart grid, delivering improved network efficiency and responsiveness.

Smart meters will play an important role in our transition to a low-carbon economy. They will help us meet some of the long-term challenges we face in ensuring that Great Britain has an affordable, secure and sustainable energy supply.

Implementation programme

A major central programme is required to design and implement new cross-industry arrangements for smart metering, in co-ordination with the change programmes which industry participants will need to implement themselves.

The first phase of the Smart Metering Programme is a joint Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) / Ofgem initiative. DECC is chairing an over-arching Strategic Programme Board which is providing the necessary strategic oversight and direction to the Programme during Phase 1. Ofgem E-Serve is managing delivery of the first phase of the Programme for DECC.

The Smart Metering Implementation Programme Prospectus

On 27 July 2010, the Government and Ofgem jointly published a Prospectus containing proposals for the delivery of electricity and gas smart metering in Great Britain. This covers both domestic households and small and medium non-domestic sites.

The Prospectus document, which represents the joint views of the DECC and the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA), sets out proposals for and asks for views on how smart metering will be delivered.

Your views and comments on the proposals are invited. We have set two different deadlines for responses. We are seeking responses on a number of key aspects of this consultation on a shorter timescale – by 28 September 2010 – to facilitate earlier decisions where this is possible and appropriate. The deadline for responses on the remaining questions is 28 October 2010.

The Prospectus and supporting material can be found on our Smart Metering implementation programme: prospectus web page.

2009 Consultation

DECC consulted on smart metering in 2009. The consultation and related documents are available on the Consultation on Smart Metering for electricity and gas web page.

Department of Energy and Climate Change