Recent government figures indicate that smart meters are not yet achieving their full potential.
By June 2024, nearly 53% of non-domestic meters managed by large suppliers were operating as smart or advanced meters.
A larger proportion of electricity meters are operating in smart mode or are advanced meters compared to gas meters (55% versus 40%).
When smart meters in traditional mode are included, these percentages remain relatively stable, as few non-domestic meters are operating in smart mode in traditional mode (electricity: 58%, gas: 43%, and overall: 55%).
The number of meters that suppliers report as operating in “traditional” mode refers to those that have lost their smart functionality and now require manual readings.
As of the end of June 2024, 57% of all domestic meters operated by large energy suppliers were smart meters in smart mode (with 52% for gas and 62% for electricity).
Including smart meters functioning in traditional mode, these percentages rise to 61% for gas, 66% for electricity and 64% overall.
During the second quarter of 2024, large energy suppliers installed 663,200 smart meters, marking an 11% decrease compared to the previous quarter, which had an additional working day.
Gas meter installations fell by 12%, while electricity meter installations decreased by 10%.
This decline is also notable compared to the second quarter of 2023, where installations were 15% higher.
As of the end of June 2024, there were 36.2 million smart and advanced meters across Great Britain in homes and small businesses.
Of these, 32.7 million were smart meters operating in smart mode or advanced meters, representing 57% of all meters.
An additional 6% were smart meters operating in traditional mode.
Smart meters may operate in traditional mode for reasons such as customers switching to suppliers that cannot support smart mode, communication issues with the wide area network, or meters yet to be commissioned.
Gillian Cooper from Citizens Advice said, “Today’s figures show once again millions of households are missing out on the benefits of their smart meters because they simply aren’t working properly. Despite a small improvement, there’s still a long way to go.”
With the 2025 deadline for installing meters in 75% of homes approaching, decisions on how to proceed will soon be required.
Ms Cooper added, “The government, Ofgem and energy suppliers must ensure more people get the benefits of smart meters and the issues plaguing millions of households are fixed.”
