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British Gas boss says sensible meters may very well be compelled into each residence

  • Chris O’Shea has called for a ‘street by street’ installation of smart meters
  • Had trouble with your smart meter? Email: [email protected] 

The boss of British Gas has said that every home could be forced to have smart meters installed in a bid to meet net zero targets. 

Chris O’Shea’s comments come two months after government data found that almost four million smart meters across Britain are not working properly leading to customers being overcharged for energy bills. 

Speaking at the House of Commons energy select committee, the chief executive of Centrica – which owns British Gas – called for a ‘street by street rather than customer to customer’ installation for the devices over a five year period. 

He said: ‘We think that in order to have the proper smart grid that’s required to keep costs low in the future, everybody should have a smart meter. One of the things we should consider as to whether this is a voluntary programme, or whether it should be mandatory.’

Mr O’Shea went on to claim that more than a third of British Gas’ seven and a half million customers had ignored offers to install a smart meter. 

Chris O'Shea, the boss of British Gas. Mr O'Shea has said that every home could be forced to have a smart meters in a bid to meet net zero targets

Chris O’Shea, the boss of British Gas. Mr O’Shea has said that every home could be forced to have a smart meters in a bid to meet net zero targets

Mr O'Shea's comments come two months after it was found that almost four million smart meters across Britain are not working properly leading to customers being overcharged for energy bills (stock image)

Mr O’Shea’s comments come two months after it was found that almost four million smart meters across Britain are not working properly leading to customers being overcharged for energy bills (stock image)

The chief executive, who was paid £8 million last year, said: ‘I have customers that write to me saying, “Please stop bothering me. I don’t want a smart meter.”

‘We found that 44 per cent of our customers don’t have them, of whom 600,000, or about 8 per cent, have said they don’t want one. 

‘So for 36 per cent of customers we are not sure whether they will take one or not.’

In words reported by The Times, Mr O’Shea argued that if the government ‘mandated’ a smart meter installation scheme, they could be installed by 2029. 

According to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, smart meters make up 61 per cent of all domestic meters in the country. 

While customers are not legally obliged to accept a smart meter if they are offered one, suppliers do often insist on installing smart meters when older meters reach the end of their life. 

They often say that some non-smart meters are no longer being manufactured and are under obligation to install a smart meter if the old one is deemed unsafe. 

One woman was charged £900 without warning by her smart meter in December last year. 

Mr O'Shea  said: 'I have customers that write to me saying, 'Please stop bothering me. I don't want a smart meter.' 'We found that 44 per cent of our customers don't have them, of whom 600,000, or about 8 per cent, have said they don't want one' (stock image)

Mr O’Shea  said: ‘I have customers that write to me saying, ‘Please stop bothering me. I don’t want a smart meter.’ ‘We found that 44 per cent of our customers don’t have them, of whom 600,000, or about 8 per cent, have said they don’t want one’ (stock image)

Paula McCracken, from East Yorkshire, said her smart meter had never worked properly and she was overcharged despite taking regular manual readings.

The 48-year-old said EDF Energy took more than £900 from her account twice with no warning, leaving her with a ‘my £500 overdraft fully taken’.  

How to check your smart meter is working 

Smart mode means your meter should automatically send readings to your supplier. If it’s not working in smart mode, you’ll need to send regular meter readings yourself. 

Citizens’ Advice has an online tool that shows you how to ensure your meter is working properly. 

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She said she was refunded on both occasions but not straight away. 

‘If I had no family and friends around me to lend me a bit of money for shopping and things, I would have been completely penniless with two children for a week,’ she said.

At the time, EDF Energy apologised and admitted it ‘fell short’.

A spokesman said: ‘Having taken actions to diagnose and resolve the issue remotely, which were unfortunately unsuccessful, we set up an appointment to reattempt commissioning but could still not receive reads due to further technical issues on site that could not be resolved.’

Sharlene Peppard, 42, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, has 11 children and used her smarter meters to budget.

After 18 months she was told by EDF that the meters were not compatible with each other.

‘I went to the ombudsman who contacted the engineer. I was told the government had set a date for December 2025 to fix the problem and I’d have to wait until then,’ she said.

At the end of 2023, 61 per cent of meters operating were smart meters - inclusive of those not operating in smart mode - which was a 6 percentage point increase from the end of 2022

At the end of 2023, 61 per cent of meters operating were smart meters – inclusive of those not operating in smart mode – which was a 6 percentage point increase from the end of 2022

This graph from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero shows how the number of domestic smart meters installed by large suppliers has increased since their launch in 2011

This graph from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero shows how the number of domestic smart meters installed by large suppliers has increased since their launch in 2011

Mrs Peppard said EDF estimated her bills to be £2 a month.

She added: ‘I’d be in thousands of pounds worth of debt if I believed that. So I’m manually logging in to make the extra £200 payment each month.’ 

Celebrities have also been overcharged by EDF. In December last year, Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry revealed that his smart meter raised his electric bill from £300 to a whopping £39,000 and they tried to take the amount from his account. 

EDF pointed to an ‘erroneous meter reading’ as a possible explanation for unusual changes in amounts charged, and said such increases were verified through a human check.

Six flat owners at a Victorian property in Ealing, West London, suffered a major misbilling when they had an SSE smart meter installed early last year for the lighting of the property’s common areas – stairs and exterior.

Monthly bills used to work out at about £20, but when the smart meter was installed, they began to rise and rise, reaching a staggering £600 a month.

They contacted SSE and were told the reason was – bizarrely – because readings that the supplier received were for a meter 270 miles away in Sunderland.

The occupants, which include actress Jilly Bond, contacted the Energy Ombudsman, which looks into disputes between suppliers and customers. In November last year, it ordered SSE to refund the overpayments.

Smart Energy GB, a non-profit organisation which promotes smart meters, said there were now nearly 35million of the devices in the country. It added that 88.6 per cent of them were operating in smart mode at the end of 2023, a rise of 1.3 percentage points from 87.3 per cent the previous year.

The group also pointed out that the sharp increase in the number of meters not operating in smart mode was due to a data reporting error, which has been rectified in the latest Government figures – released in March. 

The number of smart and advanced meter installations in 2023 decreased by 6% on 2022

The number of smart and advanced meter installations in 2023 decreased by 6% on 2022

The number of domestic smart meters operating in smart mode is now at a total of 29million

The number of domestic smart meters operating in smart mode is now at a total of 29million

A Smart Energy GB spokesman told MailOnline at the time: ‘We know that most people have a very positive experience with their smart meter, but we also understand the frustration felt by some whose meter may be temporarily operating without all of its smart features.

‘If your smart meter is not sending automatic readings to your energy supplier, please be reassured that it will still be recording your energy use correctly.

‘We would recommend that you send your supplier meter readings to make sure you receive accurate, rather than estimated, bills until all of the features of your smart meter have been restored.’  

In November last year, it emerged that six of the country’s largest energy suppliers will pay £10.8million in penalties for failing to meet targets to install smart meters.

Energy regulator Ofgem ordered British Gas, Bulb, OVO, E.On, Scottish Power and SSE to cough up. With British Gas being ordered to pay the most after being handed a bill for £3.4million. 

All six missed their targets for 2022, which was the first time suppliers had to meet a target. The firms should have installed a total of 1.3million more smart meters than they did.

Ofgem said the money will go into a fund that mostly helps Brits in vulnerable situations most at risk from cold homes and high energy bills. 

How to tell if your smart meter is faulty and what you can do to fix it

How do smart meters work?

Smart meters measure how much gas and electricity a household uses and share that information with you in close-to-real time.

They also send this information to your energy supplier via a wireless network similar to the internet but exclusively for smart meters.

If they lose connection, customers often rely on estimated bills, which are supposed to be corrected once the supplier has manual meter readings.

How do you know if your smart meter is faulty?

Some customers have either paid too much on their energy bills and struggled to get their money back – or too little and gone into debt – because their meters have not been in smart mode.

You can see if your supplier is getting your readings by checking your latest statement – or looking at your supplier’s app if they have one – and seeing if readings are marked as ‘smart’.

If they are not, you can check how often your smart meter is supposed to be sending readings to your provider – either monthly, hourly, or half-hourly. Making this more frequent could improve the accuracy of bills.

Another possible cause of the issue, which is not necessarily your smart meter’s fault, is if the supplier itself is having connectivity issues. In this case, you may need to submit readings manually to ensure your bills are accurate.

What can you do if your smart meter is faulty?

If you still think it might be your meter that is at fault, you can check its connection using this Citizens Advice tool.

Contact your energy provider if your smart meter is not connecting properly, making sure you submit manual readings while the issue is ongoing to make sure your bills are accurate.

If your smart meter monitor is at fault, then you can try moving it closer to your meters, checking its battery or that it is plugged in, or check your supplier’s website for further troubleshooting tips.

If a smart meter monitor is broken, or not working as it should within 12 months of installation, your supplier should replace it free of charge unless you damaged it yourself. After 12 months, you can be charged for a new smart meter, although some energy firms will waive this fee.

How is the smart meter rollout going?

The installation programme of smart meters, launched by the Government in 2011, is hugely over budget and behind schedule.

Ofgem has said it is concerned about the ‘slow progress of installations for smart prepayment meters, and the potential impact of that on vulnerable households’.

Late last year, six companies were fined a combined £10.8 million for missing the regulator’s 2022 targets.