UK green electricity supplier Ecotricity has set its sights on entering the smart meter market and is developing its own technology to launch potentially within two years.
Ecotricity founder and managing director Dale Vince told
GreenWise that his company had just begun
research and development (R&D) into a
smart meter technology that was "simpler, faster, cheaper and less wasteful" than other products on the market.
"We are just getting started now. We are in early stages of R&D and looking at an 18-month programme," he said.
Vince would not reveal details of the technology being worked on, but confirmed that Ecotricity, which specialises in
renewable energy generation and supply, had devised the concept in-house.
"We came up with the idea and reached out to technical expertise to develop it," he said.
Smart meters give consumers and businesses comprehensive information about their energy consumption and its cost and can reduce energy consumption by up to 10 per cent.
Ecotricity is aiming to grow its customer base from 40,000 to one million within the next few years and Vince said the company would look to deploy its smart meter technology to its own customers as well as third parties.
"We believe that it will be so attractive that everyone will want it – and not just in Britain," he said.
The
UK Government announced last year that it wanted all UK homes to be fitted with smart meters by 2020.
The decision has already kick-started major investment in the UK smart meter sector, with energy suppliers such as British Gas launching smart meter trials and setting up specialist metering divisions that will create thousands of new jobs.
Ecotricity is looking to expand its business significantly over the coming years on the back of growth in its long-standing renewable energy generation and supply division, as well as through its recently launched green gas division and diversification into new areas such as smart metering.
Last week the company announced it had won planning permission to build a new eco headquarter in Stroud, Gloucestershire, which would add 300 extra employees to its existing 170.
Meanwhile, on the R&D side, Ecotricity has for the last two years been developing an urban wind turbine concept called the 'Urbine’ although it is still not clear when it will be commercially viable.
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