Almost 90 per cent of customers said they were satisfied with the installation of their smart meter, according to a survey commissioned by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The research explored customer experiences of smart metering over time; beginning with their decision to get a smart meter, through the installation process (including demonstration of an in-home display and energy saving advice provided by the installer), to almost one-year after installation.
The primary data collection method was a representative, two-wave telephone survey of customers of two GB energy suppliers who had smart meter installations in January and early-February 2017.
The first wave (the post-installation survey) was carried out within approximately three months of the installation, with the second (the follow-up survey) almost a year after the installation.
In total almost nine in ten post-installation survey respondents (89 per cent) said they were satisfied with the installation of their smart meter.
Satisfaction with the overall smart meter experience was high and sustained across the year, according to BEIS.
Three-quarters of follow-up survey respondents said they were satisfied with their smart meter and only 11 per cent said they were dissatisfied.
Just after installation, 80 per cent said they were satisfied and only 7 per cent were dissatisfied.
Over three-quarters (76 per cent) of follow-up survey respondents gave a score of six out of ten or above for likelihood to recommend a smart meter to a friend, family or colleague, and 14 per cent gave a score of four or below – again sustained across the year, when 80 per cent gave a score of six or above and 8 per cent gave a score of four or below.
Increased visibility of customers’ energy consumption was attributed to the levels of satisfaction, as well as the “increased convenience” their smart meter brought them.
Prepay respondents were among those most likely to be satisfied with having a smart meter (80 per cent of prepay follow-up survey respondents, compared to 73 per cent of credit respondents). They were also less likely to say they were dissatisfied with their smart meter (7 per cent of prepay follow-up survey respondents, compared to 12 per cent of credit respondents).
Prepay respondents were also more likely to give a score of six or above for likelihood to recommend a smart meter (83 per cent). They were also almost twice as likely to give the maximum score of ten out of ten (60 per cent, compared to 35 per cent of credit respondents).
Only 5 per cent of prepay respondents gave a score of four or below (compared to 14 per cent of credit respondents).
Almost nine in ten (88 per cent) of prepay respondents said that topping up had become easier since the installation of their smart meter (and 86 per cent said it had become a lot easier).
Subsequently, prepay qualitative interview participants often felt much more in control of their balance and consumption, and some noted they less frequently used emergency credit as a result.
Overall the survey found the majority of people were satisfied with their smart meter while almost half (47 per cent) said their smart meter had helped improve their understanding of their energy consumption over the year.
Additionally, more than six in ten (62 per cent) felt that having a smart meter had made a difference in some way to how they use energy in their home.
The smart meter rollout has been a cause for concern for some within the industry.
On Thursday (29 November) the latest figures from BEIS showed there had been a 10 per cent decrease in the installation rate by large suppliers in domestic properties.
In total 1,128,000 domestic smart meters were installed by large energy suppliers in the third quarter of 2018 (495,400 gas and 632,600 electricity meters).
Alex Neill, Which? managing director of home products and services, said: “It’s alarming that the rate of smart meter installations by large suppliers has dropped by around 1,500 per day, when the rollout has already been massively delayed.”
He urged the government to “replan” the rollout with industry and consumer groups to ensure people get the “maximum benefit at the minimum cost”.