Eon has launched a new service which will offer rival suppliers support with financing, training and installations for their smart meter rollouts.
Eon Smart Installation Services will offer fellow energy retailers a range of options depending on the requirements of each company.
Solutions offered as part of the new service include:
- Meter financing, and asset provision through Eon’s established network of manufacturers
- Meter installation and maintenance services on a regional or national basis
- Consultancy on smart metering approach
- Engineer training at Eon’s dedicated smart meter academy
- Long-term or temporary ‘hire’ of Eon’s engineers to undertake installations
- Or, the end-to-end delivery of a company’s smart metering needs from customer engagement to successful installation
The large supplier has already installed 3 million smart meters for its own customers and has a 2,000-strong nationwide team of smart meter engineers.
Chris Lovatt, chief operating officer of Eon Energy Infrastructure Services, said: “With more than a decade’s experience and as the UK’s leading installer of SMETS2 meters, we’re pleased to launch Eon Smart Installation Services.
“Our extensive experience, expertise and capabilities can help other suppliers to meet their targets and, just as importantly, help their customers benefit from accurate bills and personalised information about their energy use.
“Ultimately, our commitment to the smart metering programme is about transforming our national energy infrastructure for the better, helping improve people’s relationships with their energy use and building a smarter energy system that’s fit for the future.”
During the Smarter approaches to smart metering panel session at Utility Week Live Online (UWLO) last month Eon Energy’s head of transformation Simon Duncan discussed how the supplier had faced operational challenges during the rollout, such as how misinformation had resulted in setbacks.
He said: “There were some absurd examples from newspapers, for example suggesting that burglars could use your smart meter to see when you are not at home. It always seemed ludicrous to me, that burglars had gone from peeking through someone’s window to hacking into systems to see if you were at home. They might have been giving the average burglar too much credit.
“As ludicrous stories like that landed we’d have an immediate impact to cancellations and new bookings so we had to be quick on our feet and get information out to advisors and technicians as soon as possible. We had news alerts sent to our people with objection handling techniques and myth busting cards to counteract those stories.”
According to the latest figures more than 22 million smart and advanced meters were operating in the UK at the end of September, with 4 million operating in ‘dumb’ or traditional mode. Meanwhile, the Data Communications Company (DCC) has recently announced that 6 million second-generation SMETS2 devices are now on its network.