Government should continue to set ambitious targets for the remaining years of the four-year smart meter framework. |
304. To build on the successful consumer demand flexibility trials, the Government should continue to set ambitious targets for the remaining years of the four-year smart meter framework. The widespread provision of smart meters acts as a pre-cursor for the adoption of time-of-use tariffs, as it allows for major utility companies to have the data points that facilitate signals being sent to consumers. As of the end of September 2022, about 30 million energy meters (about 54%) were smart or advanced. The smart meter rollout is estimated to generate total bill savings to households of £5.6 billion over the course of the rollout, which will likely have improved given high forecasted energy prices.244