Two million second-generation (SMETS2) smart meters have been installed, the Smart Data Communications Company (DCC) has announced today (9 September).
Centrica-owned British Gas installed the milestone meter on 7 September in Carshalton, Surrey.
The DCC has also published a list of the top 10 areas in the UK for SMETS2 take-up.
- Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
- Bolsover, Derbyshire
- South Derbyshire
- Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
- Hinkley and Bosworth, Leicestershire
- Mansfield, Nottinghamsh
- Blaby, Leicestershire
- Boston, Lincolnshire
- Tendring, Essex
- Rugby, Warwickshire
Angus Flett, the DCC’s chief executive, said: “With 23 smart meters being installed every minute of the day, our network has grown quickly. We connected the millionth smart meter in May, and already that number’s doubled.
“Several areas in the country are really leading the charge and embracing smart meter technology, which is digitising our energy grid.
“Areas like Tewkesbury and Bolsover are playing their part in reaching our national net-zero carbon target, and their contribution could help local renewable and energy storage projects make a bigger impact.
“As consumers see the benefit of smart meters enabling a low carbon economy we expect installations to accelerate further. This work reaffirms the DCC’s purpose of making Britain more connected so we can all live smarter, greener lives.”
Meanwhile Mark Aston, senior vice president for energy, utilities and telecoms at CGI, which is providing data services to the DCC, said: “Reaching 2 million SMETS2 smart meter installations less than four months after the milestone 1 millionth installation is hugely encouraging.”
The rollout has been plagued with issues since its conception over a decade ago, including some first-generation (SMETS1) devices “going dumb” when a customer switches supplier.
According to the latest figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) a total of 2.7 million “dumb” meters were operating as of 30 June this year
BEIS refers to these dumb meters as “operating in traditional mode”, a process caused by factors including meters being unable to communicate with the wider network.
The latest statistics reveal 14.9 million smart meters were in operation in the UK at the end of Q2 2019, representing a 4.2 per cent increase from the previous quarter.