There are now more than 12 million smart and advanced meters operating across homes and businesses in Great Britain, according to new figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Figures for the second quarter of 2018 up to 30 June show a rise in the number of meter installations compared with the same period last year and a 9 per cent increase on Q1.
BEIS says 12.05 million devices have been installed as part of the rollout, which aims to offer every household a smart meter by 2020.
The number of smart meters installed by large energy suppliers in domestic properties was more than 1.2 million, an increase of 191,176 compared to the same period in 2017.
Large energy suppliers also installed 17,438 meters in smaller non-domestic sites, a rise of 3,627 compared to Q2 last year.
In response to the figures, Robert Cheesewright, director of policy and communications at Smart Energy GB, said: “People with smart meters are already experiencing the benefits. Our research shows that more than eight in 10 people with smart meters have taken steps to reduce energy waste and the majority of people say they have a better idea of what they are spending on energy.”
A spokesperson for Energy UK, added:“With more than 12 million smart meters now installed in the UK, more and more customers are enjoying the benefits that smart meters bring and are reporting high levels of satisfaction.
“Suppliers remain committed to meeting the government’s deadline of ensuring all households and businesses are offered a smart meter by 2020 and these figures show how energy companies are working hard to reach as many customers as possible and to ensure the rollout is carried out safely, efficiently and cost-effectively.”
Figures obtained by Utility Week showed British Gas is leading the way with smart meter installations, with the big six supplier so far having installed 5.6 million domestic smart meters and a further 590,000 in businesses across the UK.
Eon has installed 1.2 million while SSE recently installed its one millionth device.
Scottish Power says it has also installed one million while EDF and Npower have installed 750,000 and 428,000 respectively.
Responding to the latest BEIS figures, Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said the rollout will have to be completed at an “increasingly unrealistic pace” to meet the 2020 deadline. She reiterated a call to extend the deadline by three years.
She added: “We are concerned that the compressed timeline could lead to a poor customer experience, which risks undermining people’s faith in what is an important technology.
“We want smart technology to work for consumers. Extending the deadline to 2023 will allow more time for problems that consumers are already experiencing to be fixed. This would allow suppliers to rollout the remaining meters at a pace that delivers the best possible consumer experience.”
The government should soon be deciding on whether to further extend the end date for the installation of the first generation of energy smart meters (SMETS1) following a consultation.
In January, BEIS pushed the 13 July end date back to 5 October 2018 and it has proposed to increase this by a further two months to 5 December 2018.