A quarter of a million second generation (SMETS2) smart meters are operating successfully on the Data Communications Company (DCC) network, the DCC has announced.
In a statement today (7 January), the company said the milestone was reached when a SMETS2 device was installed in Sutton, south London, by big six supplier EDF Energy on Friday (4 January).
Angus Flett, chief executive of the DCC, said: “This is a terrific start to the new year and a proud moment for the DCC as we prove our network’s ability to operate at scale.
“The rate of installation will continue to accelerate throughout 2019 while we also start to enrol first generation (SMETS1) meters onto our network, extending the benefits of smart metering and interoperability across the country.”
The DCC says “significant progress” has been made on the SMETS2 rollout in recent months, with more than 4,000 installations each day, the equivalent of about seven per minute.
This is a notable increase from just 1,000 installed nation-wide in June 2018, and the company expects the pace of installation to increase over the course of 2019.
On Friday (4 January) Utility Week reported that energy minister Claire Perry previously told parliament that 220,000 of the devices had been installed by 18 December last year, in response to a question posed by Labour’s shadow energy minister, Alan Whitehead.
The National Audit Office warned in November that the government’s original ambition of offering a smart meter to every home by 2020 will not be met, whilst the cost of the rollout will likely “escalate beyond initial expectations”.