Seven Million Smart Meters Need To Be Upgraded
By Paul Homewood
Billpayers will be forced to foot the cost of upgrading seven million smart meters which will become obsolete in less than 10 years, the spending watchdog has warned.
In a damning report highlighting a number of failures in the smart meter roll out, the The Public Accounts Committee said seven million smart meters would need to be replaced before the 2G and 3G networks they use are switched off in 2033.
It warned that the financial burden of replacing the redundant smart meter hubs will be ultimately borne by energy bill payers and could be “very significant”, exceeding previous estimates.
The report went on to say that demand for the smart devices, designed to help consumers monitor their energy use and cut bills, had dried up. It said many customers were turning against the devices over fears they allow suppliers to remotely switch them to more expensive prepayment plans.
Smart meters were also said to be most likely to benefit rich, old men who own their own houses, the report said, while low-income renters are at risk of being “left behind” because blocks of flats pose a headache for installers to fit the devices.
It comes as the net zero scheme, which aims for 80pc of homes to have a smart meter by 2025, lags far behind official targets, with millions of the smart devices not working properly.
Ministers are also facing growing questions about its purported money-saving benefits to households, with Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the committee, saying the evidence of whether smart meters in fact benefited consumers was “unclear”.
She said: “Smart meters have serious reputational obstacles to overcome with the public. Our inquiry has found that consumers’ enthusiasm for adopting one has been understandably harmed by recent shocking reports of forced installations.”
Comments are closed.
NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
What a shambles! You couldn’t make it up!
Comparatively smart meters were one of the easiest net zero (or something) changes our virtue signalling Politicians decided to do.
The remaining energy distribution infrastructure changes necessary for net zero are really difficult.
HS2 cancelled because it was politically too hard shows where we are heading.
Letting market forces decide what is the best way forward is a unsatisfactory way for decision making but it appears much better than political policy.
Having a new build means I have a smart meter by default. However I cannot quite dismiss the notion that it allows my electric consumption to be restricted by the National Grid, or even to utilise the storage in an EV, were I short-sighted enough to buy one. Renewables not being able to match demand is the problem here. Who would have thought?
It could only utilise EV storage if it was plugged in
Which it probably would be to avoid expensive public chargers. Either way I wouldn’t want such a fire risk near my house.
‘seven million smart meters would need to be replaced before the 2G and 3G networks they use are switched off in 2033.’
And which G will you be on then? 5G isn’t the end. You will be replacing the meters every few years as technology evolves.
“And which G will you be on then? 5G isn’t the end”
You would like to think that the people behind smart meters might have thought about this, and designed them with a replaceable wireless module, rather than having to change the whole meter. But that was obviously far too sensible, and “Planned Obsolescence” has trumped the all important “Sustainability”…
Nothing ‘smart’ is actually good at all, and that seems to apply to the people who think them up.
‘Smart’ is a focus group tested positive word, so they slap it on, even on dumb stuff.
“Smart” is also used to describe the physical sensation resulting from receiving a slap.
Remember smart motorways? After several deaths, they were scrapped – smart meters are of similar DNA, a pretend solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, benefitting others, not you
From remote tariff switching, to remote power cut off, increased EM radiation saturating you 24/7, potential data hacking, personal data and lifestyle profile harvesting, malfunctioning usage capture leading to erratic, hefty bills, problems switching suppliers, zero energy saving capability and dystopian control of your homes smart appliances
Take my advice – do not have one
I wouldn’t buy anything that used the word, Smart, to describe them. And I thought politicians and their smart advisors used focus groups.
I’m sure they do, but focus groups with participants chosen to give the “correct” answers…
The remote cut-off facility is sufficient to persuade me not to have a “smart” meter.
They halted introducing the death motorways but did not go back and convert those that exist back to proper motorways.
The only ‘smart’ thing I own is a mobile phone because unfortunately they are quite useful but as to smartness, why was my last not smart phone able to turn itself on to sound my wake up alarm and the smart phones I have had can’t.
I don’t understand the use of Smart meters, I am obviously not smart enough.
You’re obviously not an Einstein & need one to tell you shorter showers & turning stuff off you aren’t using will save you money.
What “demand”? Consumers didn’t ask for smart meters. They were imposed
>>demand for the smart devices
“It comes as the net zero scheme, which aims for 80pc of homes to have a smart meter by 2025, lags far behind official targets,” Whether or not you DO, or CAN, pay attention to what the meter SHOWS ( not tells), What EXACTLY does it do to help a “net zero ” scheme? regardless of “with millions of the smart devices not working properly.”
reminds me of that useless Bomb detector sold to the military Years ago, remember ? – just a box with an aerial and switch…. more or less.
” What EXACTLY does it do to help a “net zero ” scheme? ”
Smart meters create the opportunity for the supplier to remotely and quickly cut off individual domestic consumers.
If we reach the desperate and dismal stage where the stability of a local distribution network (LDN) relies on energy input from domestic consumers then the ability to quickly cut off individual domestic consurmers who are a drain on the LDN but maintain connections for the individual domestic consumers who are providing a supply to the LDN could be crucial in an “energy emergency” .
I’ve been told that there is currently legislation in place to prevent the above occuring, i.e. a physical visit to site is required to cut off the supply to an individual consumer. If this is correct then how long would it take it enact legislation to permit remote disconnection? There might even be legislation already in place to permit a minister to make this decision in the event of an “energy emergency” .
Micky R, I’ve read what you’ve said and kinda know all that too and agree with the other comments below. But but but where we are, the is limited 2g/3G/4g connectivity ( Steel roofs, frameworks and T H I C K Stone walls ). The Call Centre in Southampton doesn’t understand all those terms. Think it’s called ‘something to do with Skull & Colour !!!! AND after Telecons after / before EMails with them, the Air becomes BLUE.
It’s simply rules made by City Slickers with no earthly idea about very much, but their only apparent Raison d’être is to be able to Control others. Sadly Hunger for Compliance is at the opposite end of the scale from The Power of Knowing
” Control others ”
net zero is very much about control, as detailed in many articles and posts on this message board. The control aspect in the UK will probably get worse if Starmer’s lot get in at the next general election; Miliband could release a tidal wave of control freakery
Well, to go slightly O/T on Miliband etc – was it not them who “locked” us all into this rubbish? If u ask me, the British Public are still not sick enough yet of all those green and other woke policies. Wait long enough and those ( OUR) generations will be gone – so as I said in an earlier Blog comment, climate change is more about a change in generations ( generational thinking, if you will) than anything a wee molecule can do. It’s ALL IN THE MIND ( socialism thinking bla bla blah ). So WHY did I have to endure school exams, degrees and so on to have it all turned on its head by people who DID NOT LEARN what I had to ?
With a broad brush:
In the UK, the behaviour of the younger generation is generally a result of the influence of the older generation i.e. the older generation generally influences the younger generation through education and the medjia.
Yes but with so many different generational frequencies and amplitudes, How regular is the Sinusoidal wave: Are we at a point of Refraction, Diffraction, or just interference: has anyone ever studied that form of Human induced Harmonics?
” Yes but with so many different generational frequencies and amplitudes, …. ”
I can understand the individual words you’ve used saighdear, but understanding the overall meaning is beyond me …. unless Pythonesque satire?
I think it’s called “Comprehension” – when our generation was taught Shooglespear etc by ( as per earlier discussion) SillyBus dictated by Geriatric committees and taught by lovely, just slightly older than us, lively young English teecherz . How de heck was i sposed to know wot William thought when he wrote dem books – current thinking is he was high on dem dwugz ) and if you still do not fully understand, may I suggest you read some of the dismally heavy books like I had to, to get back on an even Keel. ( Confessns of an Eng. Op. Eater T deQuin. ; Untold Hist. of th Potato J Reader; Atlas Shrugged; Hegemony or Survival -Chomsky, Through the Looking Glass and so on…. See what I mean? ) Best read was: Lord of the Flies -Wm Golding Just about predicts the state of the European world today..
And because it is dark and miserable outside but A LOT LESS FLOODING & Damage ( Leaves are still on trees ) – even at Braemar & Corgarff (Viewpoint) this now, I am finding time to write al this. Maybe I have to get out of OUR glen! G’day!
I have no interest in any works of fiction, particularly the “classics” . Most of my leisure reading over the decades has involved British military history.
Fiction? Hoh, neither have I particularly, but have been told recently to read those… well .. …. and has your British military history done you / us in society any good ? Methinks that THAT is precisely the problem with all our Tonka toy & practically illiterate Government & MSM types. Reading history: from whose PoV ? they say that the Victor re-writes history to suit a narrative: Haven’t you heard that before ( recently) ? So it becomes REAL Fiction !. Gramps here would like to get in on the conversation – about the Generational thing … which generation controlling which generation and to what avail? Basically whatever happened to MERIT in doing anything?
” and has your British military history done you / us in society any good ? ”
I am tempted to respond saighdear, but probably the wrong forum to go so far off topic !
Och I understand – wasn’t wanting to goad anyone but heh! Miliband to be found here https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2023/10/21/harvesting-subsidies-to-produce-nothing-of-value-euan-mearns/ Good on Euan Mearns.
I seem to remember that the main reason for installing Smart Meters was due to renewable energy?
If the Sun was hidden behind cloud, or the Earths’ shadow, domestic and commercial electricity could be switched off, or reduced to maintain power to hospitals and other essential services.
Like all aspects of green energy, of course it was and is, flawed!
People stuck in lifts, electric cars drained of their charge, the list is endless!
If anyone who hasn’t seen this excellent documentary, Google ‘The Fall of the Cabal’ and its sequel, (whose title I cannot recall)!
So they’ve been trying to install smart meters for about 15 years, and haven’t got there yet, and it’s been a shambles. Takes about an hour each property and costs a couple of hundred pounds. And they think they’re going to install millions of heat pumps, costing several £000 each and taking a few days to install, in the next 15 years????
Aye, right!
Unwisely, I opted to have a Smart meter installed about 5 years ago. Neither the gas nor the electicity meter worked in the way intended (they were still dependent on me to provide manual meter readings), so my supplier arranged for both to be replaced. This was done, and I now have a working smart elctricity meter, but the new gas meter still doesn’t work. Realising that the whole project appeared to be out of control, I contacted my MP who arranged to follow this up on my behalf. The reply she received from “Smart UK” (an offshoot of Capita) was unbelievable – they simply told her that she had no authority to question them.
Steve, off topic but, I have the fondest memories of Wakefield and its Holy Trinity where I learned the three “Rs” – Rhubarb, Rugby, and Raunchy women. I lost something there that it is impossible to find!
Surely it doesn’t matter what kind of meter you have as the tariff can be changed anytime.
And as we saw last autumn, you could be moved to pre-pay remotely.
Only a Smart Meter can handle Time of Use tariffs that can have 48 different rates a day – one per half-hour, including monitoring/enforcing your lack of use if you participate in the Demand Flexibility Service, a.k.a. getting paid for taking a power cut.
Future meters will act as WiFi hubs to control individual appliances, switching off your freezer or your electric shower…
British Gas is offering half price electricity over Sunday lunch time, which would be quite a good offer when cooking a roast dinner. The catch is it’s only available if you have a smart meter, which tells them how much you’ve used. And of course, when nuclear is down to 5% in a few years and there’s not enough gas powered back up when it’s cold and windless, they can turn off the oven and fridge. Christmas Dinner can wait for the next windy spell.
“Did the idiots who thought up this smart meter crusade not know that technology never stays the same for long.”
I know people who worked on the programme and they were very Smart Consultants™ . However, it never pays to question the fundamental objectives for a project that delivers incredible profit to your shareholders. As usual follow the money.
“Smart meters were also said to be most likely to benefit rich, old men who own their own houses, the report said”
How did they distinguish between men & women in this report?
..or is this a pc version of ‘white male stale’, just with the ethnicity element removed?
Meanwhile France is planning to use their smart meter system in a test to limit the supply to 200,000 homes for 4 hours. This is to confirm the practicality as an alternative to rolling local blackouts in times of extreme stress.
We may be fortunate that many (most?) of our meters are not “smart” enough to do this.