British Gas promises 2,600 new jobs on back of roll-out of smart meters

The Government originally announced its intention that all UK homes should be fitted with smart meters by 2020 back in May – today’s announcement sets out how that will be achieved and allows energy companies like British Gas to start putting their plans into effect. 

The key provisions of today’s announcement are that energy suppliers will be responsible for installing smart meters in their customers’ homes and that the communications between smart meters and the utility companies will be centrally co-ordinated, to ensure easy switching between suppliers, and to provide a platform for the development of smarter grids in the future. The Government also today put forward the case for developing smart grids in the UK.

Under the provisions set out today, all smart meters will have to be supplied with a standalone display device to make it easier for consumers to see and understand their energy use and carbon emissions in real time.

On this point Joel Hagan, the chief executive of Onzo, which helps utilities build relationships with their customers, thinks the Government has missed a trick.

“It is disappointing that the Government has decided to mandate energy displays rather than mandating the information that energy suppliers should provide to their customers and leaving it to the energy suppliers to compete in relation to how that information is delivered,” he said.

“Today’s plans for smart metering roll-out yet again raise more questions than answers. There is no clarity on what the energy display should do, and this prevents the industry from innovating and progressing development in time for roll-out,” he added.

The Energy Retail Association, which represents major electricity and gas suppliers including British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, npower, Scottish Power, and Scottish and Southern Energy, appeared to foresee no such problems, however.

In a statement it said: “Today’s announcement kick-starts the preparations for smart meters in earnest and heralds a revolution in the way that customers think about energy in the home. This is a goal that the energy companies having been working towards for a number of years.”

Phil Bentley, managing director of British Gas – which has been trialing 50,000 smart meters around the country – was similarly bullish. "At British Gas, we have the largest smart meter trial in the country. Our customers have told us they're finding smart meters and display units easy to use, and that they're helping them be more aware of how they use energy – and how they can save it,” he said.

"We're delighted the Government is moving forward with its plans for the roll-out of this technology throughout Britain. This will be the single biggest revolution in energy use since British Gas converted all the nation's homes to natural gas in the 1970s.”

He added: "We are moving forward with the recruitment of our smart energy experts, who will install smart meters and help our customers make the most of them, reducing the amount of energy they use, cutting carbon emissions and saving money.”

As well as kick-starting the roll-out of smart meters, the Government also today put forward the case for smart grids in a new paper, ‘Smart Grids: The Opportunity’. Although the Government stressed it was not a formal consultation, it said it would welcome any comments arising from the paper.

The Government argues that, by intelligently integrating the actions of all users connected to them, smart grids will deliver electricity more efficiently and reliably, reducing the costs and emissions from electricity generation and transmission. 

They will also facilitate increased generation of low carbon electricity sources such as wind, the Government argues, and, in combination with smart meters, give consumers more control and choice of when they use electricity, allowing them to save money.

The paper sets out how the Electricity Networks Strategy Group (ENSG) – a high level forum for stakeholders in electricity networks, including the electricity network companies, Ofgem and the Government – will produce a ‘Smart Grid Route Map’ early next year.

The Government will then, also in 2010, publish its views on the actions needed to deliver a smarter grid in the UK, as part of the roadmap for the whole energy system to 2050.

Making the announcement today, Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt said: “Smart grids will help manage the massive shift to low carbon electricity such as wind, nuclear and clean fossil fuels.

“Globally the business of developing smart grids has been estimated at £27 billion over the next five years and the UK has the know-how to be part of that.”