Ministers warned over smart meters

17/01/12

By Scott Allan

Campaign group Which? has warned ministers that the rollout of new energy meters to every home in Britain is in danger of becoming a "fiasco".

New smart meters are to be installed in 30 million homes and businesses between 2014 and 2019, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change estimating the cost of the project to be about £11.7 billion.

However, Which? has claimed the "hands off" proposals have no way of controlling the costs of the rollout or whether or not they could be passed on by energy companies to consumers already struggling with rising bills.

Richard Lloyd, executive director at Which?, said: "Smart meters can bring many benefits, but consumers won't accept them at any cost, or from suppliers they don't trust.

"It's naive to hope that competition in the energy market will keep under control the cost of installing smart meters in every home in the country."