With the clock ticking on the great smart meter rollout, could there finally be some good news to silence the naysayers?
Apparently so, opposition peers were assured this week, when junior Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy minister Lord Henley pledged to publish an annual progress report on the programme. The beleaguered flagship scheme to install the smart home devices and empower energy consumers has fast evolved into a logistical nightmare for most retailers and a PR embarrassment for the government.
Yet it now seems we can all be confident that, far from lagging behind schedule as critics would have us believe, the initiative will hit its target of offering a smart gas or electric meter to 53 million households by 2020. Furthermore, the government roadmap and progress reports will soon show the way to get there – including how the myriad operational and technical problems that have plagued the project’s painful journey will finally be resolved.
So why were we all worrying? Possibly because, with the deadline looming, at the latest count only 11 million meters had been installed – and just a fraction of those with the latest technology.
Ask any industry player for their thoughts on the rollout and at best you’re met with resigned frustration at the ambitious programme they have inherited. At worst, their answer would be unpublishable.
Only time will tell if the logistical and resource challenges facing stakeholders – such as the enrolment of less sophisticated SMETS1 meters with the Data Communications Company – will be resolved.
But despite the government’s comforting words, as the Smart Meter Bill made its way through the House of Lords this week, there wasn’t an overwhelming air of confidence. More bumps in the road lie ahead, with the regulator firing a warning shot about smaller suppliers that have failed to deliver on their SMETS obligations under their licence.
Can an annual progress report really be the solution to such a thorny problem? As one political insider told Utility Week, the announcement smacked of window dressing rather than any clear action plan.
The smart meter rollout offers huge potential to transform the nature of energy supply and the relationship between energy retailers and their customers. It needs a clear-sighted appraisal of the challenges facing it, a pragmatic approach to the 2020 deadline and meaningful ministerial support.
Not just smart talk.