Households are being hit with shock energy bills of as much as tens of thousands of pounds as four million smart meters are not working properly. The Telegraph has more.
The number of ‘dumb’ smart meters is up from a previous estimate of 2.7 million, following revisions to official statistics released by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) published last week.
Bill payers have complained of feeling “terrified” by the devices after receiving shock meter readings putting them thousands of pounds in debt.
Lord Callanan, the Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said he was “deeply concerned” about the figures in a letter to the energy watchdog on Thursday.
He called on Ofgem to enforce legal requirements for suppliers to ensure that smart meters are working properly.
He said: “The scale of some suppliers’ underperformance in optimising their operation metering estate over a period of time shows these steps may not have been taken universally,” adding “I am deeply concerned about this”.
Broken smart meters do not provide consumers with an accurate reflection of how much energy they have used and can lead to incorrect charges appearing on plug-in displays.
Problems with smart meters have affected high-profile consumers. In December, artist Grayson Perry complained of a £39,000 bill he received on a smart meter. In the same month, broadcaster Jon Sopel revealed his device handed him a £19,274 bill.
Estimates by the National Audit Office (NAO) put the number of faulty smart meters in Britain at just under three million last June. DESNZ has now said that the actual figure in June was 4.31 million – far higher than reported at the time.
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.