ECCC member James Heappey asked Leadsom what percentage of customers would need to accept smart meters from Decc by 2020, but Leadsom refused to provide a figure.
Leadsom said: “I am resisting setting a target because, frankly, for the life of me I cannot understand why the committee would expect that.
“What would be the merit of guessing how many people would accept the offer?”
While Decc’s stated goal for the smart meter rollout is for every household in Britain to be offered a smart meter by 2020, Heappey said Decc “must have a measure of success”.
He said: “This is a huge public infrastructure project, and I am not sure that you have a target in mind for what level of uptake you are hoping for.”
Customers are not obliged to accept the offered smart meter, but the government is currently educating consumers on the benefits of smart metering through an engagement campaign run by Smart Energy GB.
Heappey did not accept the minister’s argument that as smart meters are not obligatory it is not appropriate for Decc to set a target.
“The Department for Culture, Media and Sport have managed to set a target for what they consider to be a reasonable uptake on the back of the state aid broadband programme.
“That target is 30 per cent which is quite low. It could be 15 per cent. But I just wondered if Decc has ever set a figure by which it measures success for the uptake of the smart meter rollout.”