Smart Energy GB, which runs the consumer campaign for smart metering, told Utility Week that it had not received instructions of revised targets from suppliers.
The national advertising campaign began in August when the Data and Communications Company (DCC) was expected to go live with the network. The DCC then delayed its go-live date until the end of September, and finally missed the last deadline on 31 October, reaching the end of its contingency and nearly a year later than planned. This latest delay means that foundation meters which could have interoperability issues are still being rolled out to households and the rollout could be severely delayed.
Smart Energy GB director of policy Claire Maugham said: “Smart Energy GB’s targets are set each year by the large energy suppliers, and our campaign is planned carefully to meet those targets.
“We are on track to meet all our 2016 targets, with independent evaluation showing we are achieving excellent value for money. Any mid-year change to our targets would need to be made by the large energy suppliers, and we have received no instructions of revised targets.”
Most of the six largest suppliers declined to comment on the impact of the recent delays but EDF and Eon remain confident that the rollout will still be a success.
An EDF spokesperson said: “We are committed to the national roll-out and want to ensure we get this right for our customers.
“It is vital that the IT systems underpinning the roll-out are fully tested to ensure they are fit for purpose and we are working closely with the Data Communications Company to support them with this process.”
Eon said that it appreciated the complexity of the DCC’s task: “We fully appreciate that this is one of the biggest and most ambitious programmes our industry has faced since privatisation, not least given the compressed timescales for delivery which we’re now working towards.
“The setting up of the DCC is an extremely complex undertaking and it’s crucial that its design is right and secure. Despite this, we’ve continued installing smart meters in our customers’ properties… We’re working with the DCC to help ensure the right industry-wide solution is delivered.
“However, DCC go-live is not a ‘big bang’ for the programme; once DCC is live, we’ll further ramp up our installation of smart meters to our customers and migrate our existing smart customers to the DCC solution – in line with the yet to be agreed industry timelines. Getting the nationwide rollout of smart meters right remains a huge challenge, but we fully support the programme and the need to get it right.”
Currently the government targets for the rollout set out that most households are to be offered a smart meter by 2020. All domestic suppliers are required to be using the DCC by 1 August 2017, while large suppliers will also have to install 1,500 SMETS2 meters by 1 February 2017.
Concerns for meeting these targets with the increasing delays are growing. Consultancy firm KPMG has warned that the current installation rate would need to increase five-fold in order to meet the target and Citizens Advice that repeated delays to the launch of the network could add to consumer’s energy bills.