company position: smart metering

Last updated: 03/01/2012

We believe smart metering has an important role to play in promoting energy efficiency, load management and bill accuracy.

We are in favour of half hourly metering in the non-domestic market and believe that there is a natural split in the market in relation to smart metering between domestic and non-domestic customers.

It is important that smaller energy suppliers are guaranteed the same pricing and provision from meter providers as larger suppliers to ensure they can compete in the market.

smart meter proposals

We support the recent proposal that from the second quarter of 2014 all new or replacement meters installed must be smart meters and agree with the suggested obligation on suppliers to complete the rollout of smart metering by 2019.

Small suppliers should be protected by legislation to guarantee the same level of pricing from meter asset providers as larger suppliers, regardless of the number of meters installed. If not, small suppliers will find themselves disadvantaged and uncompetitive.

We welcome Ofgem’s proposal to protect small and out-of-area suppliers during the transition to smart metering and beyond by introducing a non-discriminatory obligation on certain suppliers to offer smart metering services to other suppliers on cost reflective terms.

meter operator maintenance services

We are extremely concerned about the provision of meter operator maintenance services in the traditional electricity meter market and note that distribution network operators have not been obliged to offer such services since 2007.

The nature of meter maintenance is that a critical mass is required in each region for it to be viable. The original meter operator businesses have this critical mass and are effectively the only choice in each region.

As smart metering becomes more prevalent, traditional meter operations may become increasingly unprofitable and smaller suppliers may find that services are withdrawn from them before they have managed to install smart metering for all of their customers. The obligation should be placed back on the DNOs or those companies which have taken on their metering businesses i.e. the dominant supplier.

Given the aim of smart metering is to empower customers to make informed decisions about when they consume electricity and at what price, if it is to work effectively it is important that meters are settled half hourly and that suppliers offer more granular tariffs. Half hourly data must therefore be available to suppliers and their agents.

Issues of data privacy and access to data have been raised that only impact on the domestic market. If de-scoping of smart meters does occur, it should only affect the domestic market allowing the rollout of half hourly metering for all non-domestic customers to continue.

For additional information, please contact us.

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