Millions of energy users in Britain are about to get a new metering system – smart meters – technology which has been rejected by Germany and found not to be cost-effective by other nations.
Smart meters send information on energy usage directly back to the energy supplier, which eliminates the need for meter readings.
Crucially, they also let the customer know just how much electricity or gas they are consuming during the day. This revelation is expected to change our behaviour, so that we switch off lights, turn down heating, and generally use less energy.
The so-called big six energy suppliers are hoping to introduce a new kind of pricing to go with smart meters, a system used elsewhere in the world called time of use tariffs.
Smart meters are not compulsory, although the publicity campaigns do not give that fact much prominence. The energy companies are footing the bill for installing smart meters, but they acknowledge they will pass costs on to the customer…
Full Article: Will smart meters be worth the money? – BBC News