BBC
Smart meters allow citizens to monitor their electricity and gas consumption
The way smart energy meters work in the north of England and Scotland is causing problems for customers, BBC Panorama has learned.
The body that represents energy companies, Energy UK, has confirmed for the first time that there is a regional divide – due to the way meters report usage data back to suppliers.
Technology used in the North may affect the proper functioning of smart meters and could require customers to submit manual readings and receive estimated bills.
The problems were also confirmed by meter engineers who spoke to the BBC.
In the Midlands, Wales and southern England, all meters use wireless cellular technology – similar to mobile phones – to send data to energy suppliers. If a signal is not strong enough, it can be amplified by an antenna.
But in the north of England and Scotland, meters rely instead on radio frequencies and no such solution is available.
According to the government, it is a legal obligation for suppliers to ensure smart meters work and it expects suppliers to “resolve any issues at a much faster pace”.
The mass rollout of smart meters began 12 years ago, with the aim of helping people save money on their bills, while reducing carbon emissions as part of the government's net zero emissions plan.
By showing how much energy households use and how much it costs, the meters aim to encourage people to use more energy at times of day when it is cheaper – because there is a surplus when most are in bed and the factories are closed.
As more energy comes from renewable sources, smart meters will form an essential part of a “smart grid”, allowing consumers to respond minute by minute to the available energy supply.
Hartesh Battu says he's had six different smart meters and none of them worked
The cost of installing smart meters in Britain is estimated at £13.5 billion, according to the government. There are 36 million such devices across England, Wales and Scotland, but recent government figures show 3.5 million of them are not working properly.
Typically, Northern Region smart meters designed to connect to the radio signal have two small indicator lights on the communications hub, mounted on top of the smart meter. The hubs equipping smart meters in the central and southern regions, receiving the cellular signal, generally have five of these indicator lights.
Northern Ireland's energy market is distinct, with its own rules and regulators – and consultation on a proposed smart meter rollout is underway.
Hartesh Battu, a doctor from Glasgow, had six different smart meters installed by two energy suppliers, but none of them worked. “I just think it’s surprisingly bad in terms of technology,” he told us. “I ask myself: 'How could billions of pounds be spent on something this bad?' »
He told the BBC he wanted a smart meter so he could save energy on his bills and benefit from a night rate that would make it cheaper to charge his electric car.
His current energy supplier, Octopus Energy, told him the problem was due to reported problems in the area and perhaps the fact he lived “far up north” – reasoning which left him deeply unimpressed. “I just thought it was a bit crazy because I live in Glasgow, I hardly live in Shetland, I'm not rural at all.”
When the mass rollout began, the decision to use radio signals in the north of England and Scotland – rather than mobile technology further south – was driven by the belief that the signals could travel far through the hills and mountains, thus reaching more rural areas. communities more easily.
But Energy UK admits there are problems with the way radio signals are transmitted. “There are problems in the north,” general manager Dhara Vyas told us.
She said there were “live conversations” within the industry about increasing the network’s reach across the north of England and Scotland.
This technological divide was experienced firsthand by smart meter engineers who spoke anonymously to Panorama.
One engineer, 'Ahmed', told us there were on average more problems in the north of England and Scotland, adding that technology further south was more up to date.
“You can end up going to someone's house at the bottom of a mountain in the north and the radio frequency can't get through. But there might be a good 3G signal nearby and it might get through – the customer doesn’t know that,” he said.
Another engineer, “Steve” working for a major energy supplier in Merseyside, who has experience of installing meters in homes on both sides of the regional divide, told us he was “ much easier to achieve a successful installation” in the South and Midlands where it could use the cellular network.
The truth about smart meters
Smart meters are supposed to make paying our energy bills easier and less expensive. But is that the whole story?
Watch now on BBC iPlayer – or on BBC One on Monday November 11 at 8:00 p.m. (8:30 p.m. in Wales and Northern Ireland).
The initial rollout of smart meters is a “classic example of project failure”, Sir Dieter Helm, a former government energy policy adviser, told Panorama.
He believes the coalition government made several mistakes which made the deployment too long and too expensive. The decision to split the communications network in two was one such mistake, he said, which meant there “were bound to be problems from the start.”
Energy suppliers do not have direct control over the communications network, neither in the north nor in the south. Instead, it is run by an organization known as the Data Communications Company (DCC) and is operated by outsourcing company Capita.
Panorama contacted Dr Battu's energy supplier, Octopus Energy, about the issues he was experiencing with his meter. The company said the situation was “frustrating” because government regulations required it to use radio wave technology to provide a signal to Dr Battu's meter – and it was not allowed to access the local 3G signal instead.
However, in what they called a “very unusual move”, Octopus told us that he had actually decided to break the rules and repair his meter by connecting it to the mobile network. He adds that “regulations have not evolved with technology”.
The meter engineer, “Alan”, agrees with Octopus that the rules are too rigid. When he encounters problems in the North with radio wave technology, particularly in built-up areas, he says he would like to be able to access the cellular network.
“It shouldn’t be a choice between one or the other. We should be able to use both.
Capita told the BBC it had advised energy suppliers against using alternative technology solutions because it would mean there would be no contractual or consumer protections for the meter user to ensure maintaining service or resolving problems.
It said the network it runs provides 99.3% coverage across Britain, adding it was “fully committed to resolving connection issues”.
In a statement it added: “The DCC is actively working with the Government to deliver a scalable 4G technology solution for the whole of Britain. »
Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis says someone has to operate the smart meter system
Most energy users pay a small extra on their bills to cover the costs of installing and repairing smart meters. This is supposed to be offset by the savings they could make and the environmental benefits.
And the latest figures show that nine out of ten smart meters are working properly. But a recent Citizens' Advice survey suggests that one in five households have had to regularly send manual meter readings because their smart meters were not working properly.
Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis told the BBC he supported the concept of smart meters but the reality didn't add up.
“I find it incredibly frustrating how bad the rollout has been, it has taken far too long and it has cost billions. All of our bills are higher because of it, and we haven't reaped the benefits yet because it wasn't done right. Someone needs to take the bull by the horns and finally make the smart metering system work.”
The government told Panorama that “even though more than 90% of smart meters are functioning normally”, the number of meters not working properly was “still too high” and, as a result, “many households are not benefiting from tariffs flexible and less expensive.
He also said a recent customer experience survey by Ofgem “found no statistically significant difference” in the proportion of customers saying their meter was not sending readings to their suppliers for areas within the north or mainly in the north.
Most experts agree that smart meters can help reduce bills and carbon emissions. But if technological problems persist, it could deter people from having them and undermine the government's goal of putting them in every home.
